The 
**Chronica  Fratris  Jordani  A  Giano'' 


REV.  EDWIN  J.  AUWEILER,  O.F.M. 


A  DISSERTATION 

Submitted  to  the  Faculty  of  Letters  of  the  Catholic   University 

of  America  in  Partial  Fulfilment  of  the  Requirements 

for  the  Degree  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 
JUNE,  1917 


CoIumtJia  ®nitier2(itp 
in  tfje  Citp  of  i^etu  |9orfe 


LIBRARY 


The 
"Chronica  Fratris  Jordani  A  Giano" 


BY 

REV.  EDWIN  J.  AUWEILER,  O.F.M. 


A  DISSERTATION 

Suhmiited  to  the  Faculty  of  Letters  oj  the  Catholic    University 

of  America  in  Partial  Fulfilment  of  the  Requirements 

for  the  Degree  oj  Doctor  of  Philosophy 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 
JUNE,  1917 


MATIONAL  CAPITAL  PRESS,  INC.,  WASHINGTON,   0. 


^ 


^r- 


■3:^  CONTENTS 

PAGB 

1.  Preface 5 

2.  History  of  the  Chronicle 7 

3.  Life  of  Jordan  of  Giano 20 

4.  Preparation  of  the  Latin  Text  of  the  Present  Edition  ...  45 

5.  Apparatus  Criticus 54 

6.  BibHography 61 


PREFACE. 

The  Clironicle  of  Eriar  Jordan  of  Giano  needs  no  in- 
troduction to  the  student  of  Franciscan  history  and 
literature,  nor  does  the  offer  of  a  new  edition  with  an 
English  translation  stand  in  need  of  an  apology.  The 
earlier  editions  of  Voigt,  in  "  Abliiandhmgen  der  Philolo- 
gisch-Kistorischen  Klasse  der  Koniglich  Sachsischen 
Gesellschaft  der  Wissenschaf ten, "  Leipzig,  1870,  of  the 
Analecta  Franeiscana,  Quaracchi,  1885,  are  fragTnentary 
and,  besides,  quite  inaccessible  to  the  general  reader. 
The  edition  of  Dr.  Boehmer  in  the  Collection  d 'Etudes 
et  de  Documents  sur  L'Histoire  Religieuse  et  Litteraire 
du  Moyen  Age  is  comi)lete  and  a  model  of  scientific  ac- 
curacy. It  shares,  however,  with  the  other  editions  the 
drawback  of  addressing  itself  exclusively  to  the  scholar 
and  student. 

In  the  proposed  edition  an  attempt  will  be  made  to 
combine  the  high  standard  of  Boehmer 's  edition  with 
greater  usefulness  for  the  general  reader.  It  will  com- 
prise the  Latin  text  and  its  first  translation  into  English. 
A  special  call  seems  to  exist  for  the  latter,  if  only  to  com- 
plete the  cycle  of  early  Franciscan  Literature  in  the  vei-- 
nacular. 

That  the  Chronicle  of  Jordan  amply  repays  study  and 
perusal  goes  without  saying.  Though  mainly  a  historical 
work,  it  is  by  no  means  without  literary  value.  Many 
of  its  quaint  and  inimitable  chapters  might  worthily 
adorn  the  best  pages  of  the  Fioretti,  and  even  among 
the  "Knights  of  St.  Francis's  Round  Table"  it  would 
be  difficult  to  find  a  more  lovable  and  human  character 
than  the  "little,  swarthy  man  with  the  jocund  heart," 
who  speaks  to  us  from  the  refreshing  pages  of  this 
chronicle. 

Every  care  has  been  employed  to  make  the  edition 
perfect.      The     viare    magnum,  of    Franciscan    litera- 

5 


6  Chronica  Fratris  Jordani  A  Giano 

ture — at  once  the  delight  and  the  despair  of  the  student — 
has  been  carefully  examined  tlioiigh,  I  must  say,  with 
disappointing  results.  This  is  owing  to  the  unique  char- 
acter of  the  present  Chronicle.  Jordan  is  an  authority 
who  confers  light  upon  others ;  little  lustre  can  be  shed 
upon  his  work  by  his  contemporaries  and  successors. 

The  introduction  to  the  forthcoming  edition  of  the 
Latin  text  is  submitted  as  a  dissertation  to  the  Faculty 
of  Letters  of  the  Catholic  University  of  America.  The  en- 
couragement given  by  this  faculty  to  constructive  edi- 
torial work  on  the  parf  of  graduate  students,  in  prefer- 
ence to  the  usually  unprofitable  discussions  of  philological 
quisquilia,  first  directed  my  choice  to  the  Chronica  Fratris 
Jordani. 

I  gladly  offer  my  grateful  acknowledgments  to  the 
Librarian  of  the  Library  of  Congress  and  his  assistants, 
who  so  generously  placed  at  my  unstinted  disposal  moat 
of  the  works  indispensable  to  the  completion  of  this  study. 

Washington,  March  31,  1917. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  CHRONICLE  OF 
JORDAN  OF  GIANO. 

''Once  upon  a  time  when  I  was  telling  the  brethren 
some  stories  about  the  coming  of  the  first  friars  into 
Germany  and  about  their  lives  and  their  deeds,  the  breth- 
ren were  greatly  edified  and  I  have  been  urged  by  many, 
many  a  time,  to  write  down  what  I  had  told  them  as  also 
other  events  that  I  might  be  able  to  call  to  memory  and 
the  years  of  the  Lord  when  the  brethren  were  sent  to 
Germany  and  during  which  this  or  that  thing  happened. 
And  'because  it  is  like  the  sin  of  witchcraft  to  rebell: 
and  like  the  crime  of  idolatry  to  refuse  to  obey'  (I  Kings, 
XV,  23),  I  resolved  to  gratify  the  devout  wish  of  the 
brethren,  mainly  at  the  behest  of  Brother  Baldwin  of 
Brandenburg,  who,  of  his  own  free  will  and  also  at  the 
command  of  Brother  Bartholomew,  then  minister  of  Sax- 
ony, offered  himself  to  do  the  writing. 

"It  is  then  in  this  year  of  the  Lord  1262,  after  the 
Chapter  of  Halberstadt,  celebrated  on  the  Sunday  of 
Jubilate,  that  we  remain  in  the  place  where  the  Chapter 
had  convened,  and,  myself  dictating  and  Brother  Bald- 
win doing  the  writing,  I  endeavored  to  give  the  best 
possible  satisfaction."     (Prologue.) 

In  these  words  Jordan  himself  inforrhs  us  of  the 
occasion  that  gave  rise  to  the  writing  of  his  chronicle, 
of  the  time  and  place  where  and  when  it  was  composed 
and  of  the  method  employed  in  its  composition.  At  the 
same  time  he  relieves  us  of  all  doubt  about  the  original 
manuscript  of  his  work:  an  autograph  copy  of  it  never 
existed.  But  are  the  extant  manuscripts  the  original 
handiwork  of  Brother  Baldwin  of  Brandenburg?  They 
are  not,  as  their  description  will  show. 


TlIK  MANUSCRIPTS. 
I.     The  Manuscript  of  Berlin  =  B. 

This  doscri])tion  follows  tlie  Introduction  to  tlic  edition 
of  Boehmer,  wlio,  in  turn,  adopted  the  description  of  the 
manuscript  (B)  given  by  Dr.  Perlbach  in  Neues  Archiv 
fiir  alt  ere  Deutsche  GeschicMskunde,  6,  pp.  606-612,  and 
translated  into  French  by  P.  Sabatier,  Speculum  Perfec- 
tionis,  p.  CLXXXVII. 

1.  "The  manuscript  Theol.  Lat.,  quarto,  196  of  the 
Royal  Library  of  Berlin,  forms  a  large  volume  consisting 
of  150  leaves  of  parchment  280  x  260  mm.,  solidly  bound 
in  boards  covered  with  leather  whose  original  white- 
ness has  now  turned  quite  black.  On  the  back  of  tlie 
volume  are  two  labels,  one  of  white  paper,  bearing 
the  following  title,  written  in  a  hand  of  the  XVIIth 
century:  Chronica  Ordinis  Minorum  S.  Francisci  Scripta; 
the  other  is  of  red  paper  bearing  the  present  cipher,  or 
bookmark:  iMs.  Theol.  Lat.  qu.  196.  On  the  inside  we 
find  the  old  bookmark  of  the  Archives  of  Konigsberg: 
No.  689.  The  first  leaf  shows  the  following  annota- 
tions :  Ms.  Theol.  Lat.  196  (cipher  of  the  Berlin  Library), 
further,  in  a  hand  of  the  XlVth  or  XVth  centuries : 
XXVI.  pars  veteris  legende  s.  Francisci  et  pliira  de  multis 
Sanctis  fratrihus  et  est  f  rat  rum  minorum  in  thorun.  Item 
miracula  de  indulgencia  porciuncule.  Item  quomodo 
fr aires  intraverunt  alem,aniam,  frandam,  ungariam. 
Below,  by  another  hand  of  tlie  XVth  century:  pater 
XXIm.  (probably  the  ancient  cipher  of  the  volume  when 
in  the  library  of  the  Franciscans  of  Thorn).  Then  fol- 
lows, another  time,  the  title  of  the  book,  in  a  third  hand 
of  the  XVth  century:  pars  veteris  legende  sancti  Fran- 
cisci et  plura  Sanctis  fratrihus  (!),  etc.  Below  this  one 
reads:  Ace.  10,  219  (register  of  accessions  of  the  Berlin 
Library),  then,  by  a  hand  of  the  XVIIth  century:  92 
(cancelled)  and:  B.  o.    At  the  end  of  the  page  one  finds, 


Chronica  Fratris  Jordani  A  Giano  9 

as  also  on  F.  IbOb,  the  stamps  of  tlie  Archives  of  Konigs- 
berg  and  of  the  Library  of  Berlin. 

2.  The  manuscript  lias  no  fly-leaves  either  at  the  be- 
ginning or  at  the  end,  but  the  text  starts  immediately, 
without  title,  on  the  reverse  of  F.  1  with  the  words : 
Fac  secundum  exemplar,  and  up  to  F.  1316  it  exhibits  the 
famous  oomi^ilation  of  Avignon  which  is  also  preserved 
for  us  in  the  manuscripts :  A'^atiean,  Lat.  4354,  Liegnitz 
12,  and  of  the  University  of  Lemberg  131. 

3.  From  F.  131-142  we  find  several  items  concerning 
the  Indulgence  of  the  Portiuncula.  At  the  end,  beginning 
Avith  F.  142  and  ending  with  150/>,  we  have,  without  any 
title,  the  Chronicle  of  Jordan. 

4.  We  need  not  analyze  in  detail  the  content  of  Fs. 
1-142,  for  this  work  has  been  done  twice  in  Neiies  Archiv 
fiir  alt  ere  Deutsche  Geschichitskunde,  6,  p.  606-612,  by 
Dr.  Perlbach,  and  in  Verzeichnis  der  lateinischen  Hand- 
schriften  der  kdniglichen  Bibliothek  zu  Berlin,  II,  2,  p. 
786-788  by  Dr.  Valentin  Rose.  Our  interest  centers  on 
the  question  where  and  when  our  manuscript  was  written. 
The  first  part,  according  to  Dr.  Rose,  is  from  a  French 
hand  of  the  middle  of  the  XlVth  century.  Folios 
139-142  (top  part),  are  added  by  a  different  hand,  in  very 
small  characters  but  of  the  same  type.  The  handwriting 
of  Fos.  142-1506  (the  Chronicle  of  Jordan)  is,  indeed,  of 
the  same  period  of  time  but  of  dilTerent  character,  and 
the  ink  used  has  become  quite  faded.  Another  important 
remark  must  be  made:  The  volume  consists  of  fifteen 
quires  of  ten  leaves  each,  but  only  quires  I-XIII  are 
numbered,  the  fifteenth  quire  lias  been  inserted  after  the 
book  had  already  been  bound;  as  a  matter  of  fact  the 
covers  of  the  binding  spread  a  trifle. 

5.  What  conclusion  is  to  be  drawn  from  all  this?  That 
the  various  parts  of  our  manuscript  volume  are  of  various 
epochs  and  from  various  regions.  Folios  1-142  (top 
part)  were  written  in  France  as  is  evidenced,  among  other 
things,  by  the  manner  of  spelling  the  German  names. 


10  Chronica  Fratris  Jordani  A  Giano 

Thus,  on  F.  123b  tiie  copyist  makes  missia  of  Nusski;  tor- 
gune  of  Torgowe  {To'rgau) ;  Mandeburch  of  Magdeburg; 
kiris  of  Kyritz.  The  Chronicle  of  Jordan,  however  (Fols. 
142-150&),  has  been  added,  most  probably,  in  Gennany 
and  by  a  German  writer  which,  again,  is  proven  by  the 
orthography  of  German  names.  The  German  copyist 
evidently  wished  to  utilize  two  leaves  of  the  volume  that 
had  remained  blanks  and  for  this  purpose  he  inserted  be- 
tween them  a  few  more  leaves  of  parchment  without 
taking  into  account  that  the  volume  would  thus  grow  too 
thick  for  the  binding.  Even  thus  he  had  only  ten  leaves 
at  his  disposal  and  it  was  impossible  to  add  another  quire 
without  breaking  the  binding.  It  is  the  more  striking 
that  the  text  concludes  with  the  last  line  on  Fo.  1506  quite 
close  to  the  cover  and  without  any  of  the  signs  employed 
to  denote  the  end.  This  quite  external  evidence  is  suffi- 
cient to  give  rise  to  the  suspicion  that  our  manuscrii)t 
cannot  well  be  more  than  a  considerable  fragment,  rather 
than  the  complete  text  of  the  Libellus  Jordani. 

6.  So  far  Dr.  Boehmer  (Intr.  I-XIV).  His  argumen- 
tation that  the  writer  cannot  have  been  a  member  of  the 
friary  of  Thorn  seems  rather  unconvincing.  The  fact  that 
we  find  only  two  remarks  m'ade  by  these  friars  of  Thorn 
(on  the  margin  of  Fo.  124),  surely  does  not  prove  any- 
thing for  or  against  the  origin  of  the  chronicle  of  Jordan 
(on  Fos.  142-1506)  in  the  community  of  Thorn.  Marginal 
notes  have  always  been  frowned  upon  by  book-lovers ; 
the  friars  are  no  exception.  We  must  content  ourselves 
with  the  statement  that  the  manuscript  of  the  Chronicle 
of  Jordan  was  added  towards  the  end  of  the  XlVth  cen- 
tury by  a  German  copyist,  but  we  cannot  trace  the  exact 
history  of  the  fragment.    (Boehmer,  p.  XV.) 

7.  ' '  But  is  the  text  of  the  manuscript,  such  as  it  is,  an 
exact  and  complete  reproduction  of  the  original?  It  is 
not.  It  takes  but  a  cursory  reading  oi  the  folios  142-1506 
to  perceive  that  the  copyist  worked  quite  hastily.  He  had 
the  intention  of  marking  the  beginnings  of  every  para- 
graph by  ornamented  initials ;  but,  time  being  wanting, 


Chronica  Fratris  Jordani  A  Giano  11 

be  left  a  blank  for  tbese  initials.  Moreover,  be  bas  fre- 
quently-written one  word  a-top  of  anotber  and  a  few 
times  lie  bas  skipped  entire  lines  of  tbe  original."  (Jjoeli- 
mer,  p.  XV.) 

8.  We  need  but  inspect  tbe  critical  apparatus  of  Boeli- 
mer  to  convince  ourselves  tbat  tbe  writer  of  oodex  B 
worked  indeed  ratber  bastily.  Tbe  spelling  of  Italian 
names  is  incorrect ;  we  find  liini  using  sucb  names  as 
Palmero  for  Palme) io,  t'visio  instead  of  Tervisio,  Tlia- 
nierino  for  Chamerino,  tarpinis  for  Carpinis  (tbe  Ana- 
lecta  edition,  bowever,  remarks :  In  codice  plerumque  lit- 
terae  t  etc  eodem modo  scribuntur !  P.  13,  u.  2).  We  find 
Buxuam  for  Brixnant,  li'polim  for  Herhipoliui,  nornudio.m 
for  Wormatiam.  Of  otber  blunders  tbere  is  a-plenty. 
Tbus  tbe  codex  (B)  bas,  in  Cbap.  32,  uiri  spiritus  for 
jurisperitus!  Jlbertus  insanus  for  Alhertus  Pisanus!  In 
Cbap.  37  we  find  vaUe  for  valde,  in  Cbap.  49  a  Deo  for 
adeo,  in  Cbap.  53  plfhra  for  pulchra,  in  Cbap.  55  volun- 
tatem  for  novitatem,  in  Cbap.  58  perfectus  for  profectus, 
in  Cbap.  59  stupendus  for  stupidus,  etc.  Otber  mistakes 
are  mentioned  and  corrected  in  tbe  cbapters  on  tbe  prepa- 
ration of  tbe  Latin  text  and  in  tbe  critical  'apparatus  of 
tbe  present  edition.  Tbe  ratber  accidental  origin  (erf.  §  5, 
above)  of  tbe  manuscript,  bowever,  explains,  and,  to  some 
extent,  excuses  tbese  "lapsus  pennae."  None  of  tbem 
are  of  vital  importance,  and  none  of  tbem  are  beyond  tbe 
reacb  of  easy  detection  and  correction. 

Tbe  furtber  remarks  of  Boebmer  repeat  tbe  arguments 
for  tbe  incompleteness  of  tbe  codex  B,  and  need  no  par- 
ticular mention,  since  all  doubt  about  tbis  question  bas 
been  settled  by  tbe  discovery  of  codex  K. 

The  Manuscript  of  Karlsruhe  =  K. 

Tbis  MS.  is  described  in  an  article  preceding  tbe  new 
edition  of  tbe  same  by  Fr.  Lemmens,  Archivum  Fra/ncis- 
canum  Historicum,  Vol.  3,  1910,  pp.  45-55;  also  in  Boeb- 
mer's  Introduction  to  tbe  Cbroniele,  pp.  XVI-XIX. 


12  Chronica  Fratris  Jordani  A  Giano 

"The  second  part  (of  the  Chronicle  of  Jordan)  was  at 
last  discovered  in  the  Landesbil)liotliek  of  Karlsruhe, 
codex  357.  It  consists  of  only  six  folios  (205  by  142  mm., 
Boehmer,  p.  XVI),  the  first  four  of  which  exhibit  our 
chronicle,  while  the  last  two  bring  a  Catalogue  of  the 
Saints  of  the  Order.  On  the  first  folio  and  on  part  of  the 
second  we  find  the  fragment  of  the  Chronica  Jordani, 
beginning  with  the  words,  ''et  uno  socio  pro  ministro 
postulando''  of  Chap.  58  and  continuing  with  the  remain- 
ing chapters  on  folios  two  and  three,  ending  on  folio  four 
with  the  words,  '*In  Lipzk  electus  fuit  fr.  Ulricus  de 
Indagine  et  celebravit  capitula,"  etc.  These  folios  are 
tlie  fragment  of  a  manuscript  written  in  the  XVth  cen- 
tury, the  first  part  of  which  has  not  yet  been  discov- 
ered. In  the  year  1786  our  fragment  was  purchased  by 
the  librarian  of  the  "Landesbibliothek"  from  the  books 
left  by  the  noted  writer,  Julius  von  der  Hardt,  of  Helm- 
stadt,  and  it  has  been  re-bound  but  recently."  {Arch. 
Franc.  Hist.,  3,  p.  48.) 

The  fragment  was  first  published  by  Fr.  Leonard  Lem- 
mens,  0.  F.  M.,  in  the  Jahrbuch  der  Sdchsischen  Fran- 
ziskanerprovinz  ro»i  heiligeoi  Kreuz,  Diisseldorf,  1906. 
It  was  added  to  the  edition  of  B'oehmer,  1908,  and  again 
published  in  the  volume  of  the  Archiniw  F ranciscanum 
Historicum,  from  which  we  have  been  quoting.  The  slight 
differences  between  this  latter  edition  and  Boehmer 's  are 
noted  in  the  critical  apparatus  of  the  present  edition. 
The  importance  of  the  Karlsruhe  fragment  does  not  con- 
sist in  the  new  material  otfered  for  a  collation  of  its  text 
with  that  of  the  codex  B ;  for  K  brings  only  Chaps.  58-62 
of  the  Berlin  manuscript.  The  fragment  K  is  priceless, 
however,  as  the  only  source,  s'o  far  available,  for  the  con- 
tinuation and  close  of  the  Chronicle  of  Jordan,  which 
breaks  off  so  suddenly  in  the  Berlin  fragment.  The  dis- 
covery of  K  gave  ns  for  the  first  time  the  complete  text 
of  Jordan 's  work. 


Chronica  Frafris  Jordanl  A  Giano  13 

Indirect  Sources  of  the  Text. 

The  Chronicle  of  Jordan  was  copied  many  times,  and 
has  been  the  source  from  which  all  subsequent  historians 
of  the  Order  drew  their  material  for  tlie  chapters  on  the 
development  of  the  German  province.  Thus,  fortunately, 
a  number  of  witnessed  can  be  adduced  from  whose  writ- 
ings additional  light  falls  on  the  pages  of  Jordan.  These 
witnesses  are : 

1.  Fr.  John  Komerowski,  a  Polish  friar,  wlio  compiled 
at  tlie  beginning  of  the  XVIth  century  two  historical 
works,  one  of  which  is  entitled,  Tractatus  cronice  fratrum 
Minorum  observancie  a  tempore  Const anciensis  concilii 
et  specialiter  de  Provincia  Polaniae  per  fratrem  JoJian- 
nem  de  Komeroivo  ejusdem  ordinis  minimum.  It  has 
been  published  by  Heinrich  Zeisberg  in  the  Archiv  fiir 
Osterreiohische  Geschichte,  Vol.  49,  pp.  314-425. 

The  second  work  might  be  called  an  extension  of  the 
former,  and  is  named  Breve  Memoriale  ordinis  fratrum 
Minorum  rectorum  ipsius  ordinis  et  contingentium  in 
ordine,  etc.,  etc.  It  was  published  by  Xaveri  Liske  and 
Antoni  Lorkiewicz  in  Monumenta  Poloniae  Historica, 
Vol.  5,  Lemberg,  1888.  Both  editions  have  been  used  in 
the  preparation  of  the  Latin  text  of  this  edition. 

2.  Fr.  Nicolaus  Glassberger,  a  German,  composed, 
about  1508,  a  lengthy  chroiiicle  Avhich  gives  detailed 
informaition  about  the  origin  of  the  German  province  of 
the  Franciscan  Order.  For  this  Glassberger  was  in- 
debted to  our  Jordan,  whose  chronicle,  however,  is  fre- 
quently quoted  as  scripta  Fratis  Balduini  de  Bruns- 
ivick.  Many  passages  are  copied  verbatim;  in  others 
Glassberger  alters  the  text  to  suit  his  own  conceptions  of 
Latin  style.  I  have  used  the  edition  of  the  Analecta  Fran- 
ciscana,  Vol.  2,  Quaracchi,  1887. 

3.  The  other  historians  of  the  Order  who  have  used, 
either  directly  or  indirectly,  the  Chronicle  of  Jordan  are 
Fr.  Fransiscus  Gonzaga,  De  Origine  Seraphicae  Religi- 


14  Chronica  Frafrls  Jorddul  A   Glano 

onis;  Fr.  LiK^as  Wadding,  in  the  Annales  Minorum;  Fr. 
Fortunatus  Hueber,  Menologiuui  Magnum;  the  autlior  of 
the  Chronica  Anonyma;  Fr.  Benedetto  Mazzara,  Leggen- 
dario  Francescano,  and  others  of  minor  importance. 
Glassberger  seems  to  have  had  a  copy  before  him  thai 
was  enriched  by  additions  of  Baldwin  of  Brandenl)urg 
(Brunswick) ;  Gonzagu's  text  gives  certain  indications  of 
being  derived  from  Jordan  through  the  Chronicle  of 
Glassberger.  Whether  Wadding  had  before  him  the 
original  Chronicle  as  written  by  Baldwin  of  Brandenburg 
or  some  other  redaction  of  it  is  a  moot  ([uestion  that  will 
liardly  ever  be  decided  satisfactorily.  Hueber  and  'Mixz- 
zara  have  quoted  from  Wadding.  It  would  be  beyond  the 
scope  of  this  introduction  to  follow  Boehmer  in  his 
lengthy  and  laborious  investigation  of  the  problem  aris- 
ing from  the  question  what  particular  text  was  used  by 
these  Tarious  historians.  His  labors  do  not  result  in  any 
definite  and  unquestionable  conclusions.  All  that  we  can 
gather  from  them  is  the  fact  that  the  texts  employed 
were  not  of  uniform  characteT,  and  this  is  easily  explained 
by  the  words  of  Jordan  in  his  prologue:  "If  I  have 
committed  errors  in  dating  various  events — and  I  am  now 
old  and  a  fallible  man — I  crave  forgiveness  from  the 
reader,  admonishing  him  to  correct  and  set  right  my 
statements  wherever  I  be  found  mistaken.  Likewise  any- 
one who  desires  to  embellish  the  style  of  the  writer  and 
the  roughness  of  my  dictation  has  my  best  wishes.  For 
it  is  sufficient  to  have  given  the  material  to  more  compe- 
tent writers  and  such  as  are  experts  in  the  art  of  composi- 
tion." There  can  be  no  doubt  that  Jordan's  brethren,  in 
the  course  of  time,  availed  themselves  of  the  privilege  so 
artlessly  granted  by  our  chronicler,  and  that  is  the  very 
simple  reason  that  we  find  ladditions  and  details  in  some 
of  Jordan's  successors  that  are  omitted  in  others.  Nor 
is  there  any  need  of  learned  discourses  to  explain  the 
attribution  by  some  of  the  chronicle  to  Brother  Baldwin 
of  Brandenburg  (Brunswick).    It  is  certain  that  no  inde- 


Chroiica  Fratris  Jordani  A  Giano  15 

])en(lent  chronicle  of  Baldwin  of  Brandon])iu-g  ever  ex- 
isted; later  writers  Irave  simply  preferred  to  name  tlie 
chronicle  after  the  writer  rather  than  after  the  dictator 
of  the  same.  The  variant  ''Brunswick"  for  "Branden- 
burg-" is  merely  the  result  of  the  prevailing  carelessness 
in  spelling  German  names,  especially  on  the  part  of 
Italian,  but  also  on  that  of  other  authors,  German  as  well 
as  non-German. 


THE  EDITIONS. 

I.     The  Edition  of  George  A'oigt. 

The  first  edition  of  Jord'an's  Chronicle  appeared  in  the 
fifth  volume  of  "Abhandlungen  der  philologisch-histori- 
schen  Klasse  der  Koniglich  Sachsischen  Gesellschaft  dei- 
Wissenschaften,"  Leipzig,  1870,  under  the  title  "Die 
Denkwiirdigkeiten  (1207-1238)  des  Minoriten  Jordanus 
von  Giano. ' '  It  was  prepared,  not  from  any  of  the  exist- 
ing manuscripts  but  from  a  copy  of  the  Berlin  codex, 
which  copy  was  made  in  the  Archives  of  Konigsberg  by 
order  of  V'oigt  's  father,  the  ' '  celebre  Je'an  V'oigt,  prof es- 
seur  d'historie  et  archiviste  a  Konigsberg"  (Boehmer, 
Introd.  1) .  A  careful  study  of  George  Voigt  's  edition  will 
convince  any  reader  that  Sabatier  was  quite  correct  in 
his  statement,  ''Une  simple  oomparaision  de  I'edition 
(Ge'orge  V'oigt 's)  avec  notre  manuscript  (Codex  B) 
prouve  de  la  f a^on  la  plus  elaire  qu  'il  est  la  source  de  la 
copie  de  Voigt  (father).  Elle  montre  aussi  que  la  copie 
de  Voigt  etait  excellente,  car  on  n'y  trouve  que  de  rares 
fautes  de  lecture  a  corriger,  tandis  que  presque  toutes  les 
erreurs  que  I'editeur  fait  disparaitre  de  son  modele  se 
retrouvent  dans  notre  manuscript."  {Spec.  Perf.,  In- 
trod., p.  CXCI.) 

Voigt 's  introductory  study  is  an  excellent  piece  of  work, 
■and  even  now  indispensable  to  the  student  of  Franciscan 
Litterature.  Boehmer 's  remarks:  ''Le  texte  est  precede 
d  'une  longue  et  savante  etude :  celle-ci  renf erme  des  ob- 
servations excellentes,  mais  elle  montre  aussi  que  la  per- 
spicacite  ne  saurais  preserver  des  erreurs.  Le  gout  des 
combinaisons  ingenieuses  pent  egarer  meme  des  cher- 
c'heoirs  prudents,  et  les  amener  a  prendre  pour  des  re- 
sultats  solides  des  hypotheses  Imsardees"  (Introd.  1,  p. 
X),  may  be  justified,  but  it  is  rather  ungenerous.  Voigt 
did  not  have  the  advantage  of  utilizing  the  immense 
amount  of  critical  work  that  has  been  done  since  his 
times,  and  of  which  Boehmer  was  the  beneficiary ;  he  was 


-J 

16 


Chrouica  Fnitrl<i  JorcJani  A  G'unio  17 

a  pioneer,  and  liis  pioneer  work  lie  did  with  admirable 
thoroii^imess  and  indefati^-able  indnstry.  If  he  has  in- 
dulged in  "eombinaisons  ingenienses,"  and  if  he  has  car- 
ried them  occasionally  too  far,  he  has,  on  the  other  hand, 
given  the  most  valuable  indi(^ations  and  directions  for  his 
successors — directions  that  none  has  followed  more  con- 
scientiously than  Boehmer.  That  Voigt,  with  the  scant 
material  available  to  him,  could  anticipate  so  much  that 
has  since  been  securely  established  is  to  his  permanent 
credit,  and  we  may  well  pardon  him  his  blunders. 

Less  allowance  ought  to  be  made  for  the  dense  and 
bitter  prejudice  that  mars  his  observations  on  St.  Francis 
himself,  his  first  biographers,  and  the  later  historians  of 
the  Order.  Voigt  might  well  have  served  as  a  model  for 
such  an  uncompromising  hypercritic  as  Nino  Tamassia  in 
his  famous  "St.  Francis  of  Assisi  and  His  Legend" 
(Translation  by  Lonsdale  Ragg.  London:  T.  Fisher  Un- 
win,  MCMX).  To  judge  by  Voigt,  the  biographies  of  St. 
Francis  are  a  web  of  lies  and  superstitious  inventions, 
the  work  of  a  band  of  accom]ilished  swindlers  and  falsi- 
fiers of  the  truth.  Voigt  is  a  warm  admirer  of  our  Jor- 
dan, but  less  on  account  of  his  simple  good  faith  and  piety 
than  because  of  his  alleged  and  altogether  fictitiou's  scep- 
ticism regarding  the  holiness  of  St.  Francis  and  the 
reality  of  his  wonderful  deeds.  It  would  be  idle  to  follow 
Voigt  in  his  vagaries — ^they  have  long  since  been  dis- 
counted and  are  gladly  ignored  by  a  less  bigoted  but  more 
sympathetic  time.  It  was  mainly  with  a  view  of  exposing 
and  correcting  the  attacks  of  Voigt  that  the  second  edi- 
tion of  the  Berlin  fragment  of  our  Chronicle  was  prepared 
and  published  by  the  Fathers  of  the  College  of  St.  Bona- 
venture,  Quaracchi,  1885. 

II.     The  Edition  of  Quaracchi. 

This  edition  is  based  on  the  manuscript  of  Berlin  which 
had  since  been  discovered,  according  to  Sabatier,  1.  c,  by 
Dr.  Holder-Egger,  the  famous  collaborator  of  the  Mouu- 


18  Chronica  Fratris  Jordani  A  Giano 

merit  a  Germaniae  Historica  {Spec.  Perf.,  Intr.,  p. 
CXCII).  Fr.  Victor  Albers,  O.F.M.,  collated  the  codex 
B  with  Voigt  's  edition,  and  the  result  of  his  work,  in  which 
he  was  assisted  by  Fr.  Henry  Denifle,  O.P.,  was  published 
in  the  first  volume  of  the  Analecta  Franciscana,  Qua- 
racchi,  1885. 

Boehmer  justly  blames  this  edition  for  lack  of  scien- 
tific accuracy  and  for  the  absence  of  critical  acumen. 
Notwithstanding  these  deficiencies,  the  Quaracchi  edition 
is  a  notable  achievement,  and  deserves  honorable  mention 
in  these  introductory  remarks.  Some  of  its  readings  are 
better  than  those  introduced  into  the  edition  of  Boehmer, 
and  I  have  adopted  them  in  my  owm.  A  full  account  of 
these  is  given  in  the  chapter  on  the  preparation  of  the 
present  text  and  in  the  critical  apparatus.  The  preface  of 
the  Quaracchi  edition  is  a  masterly  refutation  of  Voigt 's 
exaggerations  and  an  illuminating  essay  on  historio- 
graphy in  the  Franciscan  Order. 

III.     The  Edition  of  Henky  Boehmee. 

The  two  preceding  editions  have  been  completely  super- 
seded by  the  third,  prepared  with  every  imaginable  care 
by  Dr.  Heinrich  Boehmer,  then  professor  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Bonn,  and  published  in  Vol.  VI  of  the  "Collec- 
tion d 'Etudes  et  de  Documents  sur  I'Historie  Religieuse 
et  Litteraire  du  Moyen  Age,"  Paris,  Librairie  Fisch- 
bacher,  1908. 

An  exhaustive  introduction  precedes  the  text  of  the 
Chronica ;  it  is  copiously  annotated,  and  brings  for  the 
first  time  an  index,  "si  non  copiosus,  saltem  sufficiens ' ' 
(Fr.  Bihl,  Arch.  Franc.  Hist.,  2,  p.  648). 

The  merits  and  occasional  demerits  of  this  edition  will 
be  discussed  in  the  following  i3aragraphs  of  this  introduc- 
tion, and  their  mention  need  not  be  anticipated  here. 

To  sum  up  the  results  of  this  chapter : 

1.  The  original  of  the  Chronica  Jordani,  written  by 


Chyonica  Fratris  Jordani  A  Giano  19 

Brother  Baldwiu  of  Brandenburg  after  the  dictation  of 
Jordan,  no  longer  exists. 

2.  The  two  codices  B  and  Iv  are  copies  of  the  same, 
made  at  a  much  later  date  than  that  of  the  composition  of 
the  chronicle. 

3.  Other  copies,  enlarged  by  various  unknown  succes- 
sors of  Jordan,  existed,  and  from  these  the  extracts  of 
Komerowski,  Glassberger,  Gronzaga,  and  Wadding  are 
derived. 

4.  The  first  edition  of  Voigt  was  made  from  a  tran- 
script made  by  his  father  from  the  Berlin  manuscript. 

5.  The  latter  was  first  published  in  the  Analecta  Fran- 
ciscan a,  while  the  edition  of  Boehmer  brings  the  entire 
chronicle  as  exhibited  in  l)oth  codex  B  and  K,  with  numer- 
ous additions  and  corrections,  more  or  less  felicitous,  re- 
sulting from  a  careful  collation  with  the  corresponding 
passages  of  the  above-mentioned  historians. 

6.  The  present  edition  will  follow  the  lines  of  Boeh- 
mer 's  standard  work. 


THE  LIFE  OF  JORDAN. 

Apart  from  the  Chronicle  of  Jordan,  there  is  only  one 
other  source  for  the  biography  of  this  author,  viz.,  the 
tliree  letters  on  the  invasion  of  the  Tartars  preserved  in 
the  Chronica  Major  a  of  Matthew  of  Paris  (M.  G.  SS. 
T.  XXVIII,  p.  207  SS.).  The  Catalogus  Sanctorum  Fra- 
triini  Minorum,  written  about  1335  and  publislied  by 
Father  Leonard  Lemmens  in  Fragmenta  Franciscana 
(Rome,  1903),  p.  38,  merely  mentions  his  name:  In 
Provincia  Saxoniae  Fr.  Jordamis  de  Italia.  The 
Chronica  XXIV  Generalium  (Ed.  Anal.  Franc,  T. 
Ill,  p.  237)  mentions  him  among  the  saintly  members  of 
the  Saxon  province:  In  Madehnrch  f rater Jor- 
damis de  Italia.  The  narratives  in  Gonzaga  {De  Ori- 
gine,  Ed.  1587,  p.  661  ss.),  who,  according  to  Boehmer, 
drew  from  Glassberger  (see  Boehmer 's  edition,  Introd.,  p. 
LII)  ;  Glassberger,  Anal.  Franc,  T.  II,  p.  19  ss.;  Hueber, 
{Menologium,  columns  1110  and  2100) ;  Wadding,  Annales 
T.  I,  p.  247;  Mazzara  {Leggendario  Francescano,  T.  XI, 
p.  43,  Ed.  1722),  are  mere  transcripts  and  extracts  from 
Jordan's  Chronicle,  and  tell  us  absolutely  nothing  that  is 
not  contained  therein. 

Jordan  is  all  too  reticent  about  himself,  and  we  cannot 
but  regret  that  he  has  naught  of  the  vanity  so  naively  dis- 
played by  his  famous  -confrere,  Fr.  Salimbene  de  Adam. 
He  tells  nothing  about  the  date  of  his  birth,  his  family, 
and  the  important  events  of  his  life,  except  incidentally 
and  in  as  far  as  they  have  any  bearing  on  the  history  of 
his  mission  to  Germany  and  his  subsequent  administra- 
tion of  various  important  offices  in  the  Order.  Thus  we 
are  informed  at  the  very  outset  of  Jorda-n's  Chronicle 
that  in  1262,  when  he  dictated  his  work  to  Fr.  Baldwin  of 
Brandenburg,  he  was  "jam  senex  et  debilis"  (Prologus, 
p.  2, 1.  5,  Ed.  Boehmer).  At  the  time  of  the  famous  Chap- 
ter of  1221  he  was  a  deacon,  which  allows  us  to  place  the 

20 


Chronica  Fratris  Jordani  A  Giano  21 

date  of  his  birth  in  about  1195,  or  within  a  few  years 
sooner  or  later.  According  to  his  own  statement,  he  was 
born  in  Giano,  a  small  village  in  the  valley  of  Spoleto. 
Even  our  distinguished  chronicler  has  not  been  able  to 
lift  it  above  its  undisturbed  obscurity,  and  it  is  not  men- 
tioned in  the  Umbria  Francescana  of  P.  Nicola  Ca- 
vanna.  The  excellent  automobile  map  of  Giovanni  Mari- 
eni  assigns  to  it  the  rank  of  a  "Oap'oluogo  di  Commune," 
but  shows  it  at  a  respectful  distance  from  any  railroad  or 
other  good  road.  We  barely  find  it  mentioned  in  the  his- 
tory or  legendary  lore  of  the  Franciscan  m'ovement ;  the 
Provinciale  Ordinis  Fratrum  Minorum  (edition  of 
Eubel,  Quaracchi,  1892)  of  1343  tells  us  that  the  friars  had 
a  small  residence  there. 

Whether  or  not  Jordan  received  his  clerical  education 
in  the  Franciscan  Order  is  a  matter  of  uncertainty.  All 
we  know  is  that  he  was  in  major  orders  in  1221.  Accord- 
ing to  Glassberger,  he  was  received  into  the  Order  by  St. 
Francis  himself:  ^^Et  quia  fratri  Jordano  liumanum 
aliquid  acciderat — puta  quia  heatissimum  patrem,  qui  et 
ipsum  ad  ordinem  receperat,  in  mundo  viventem  homi- 
nem  infirmum  vide  rat  et  noverat,  etc.,"  an  assertion 
which  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt.  In  this  case  his  en- 
trance into  the  order  must  have  taken  place  before  the 
journey  of  the  Saint  into  the  Orient,  about  which  Jor'dan 
gives  us  much  detailed  infornmtion  in  Chapters  10-15  of 
his  Chronicle.  Boehmer  argaies  from  the  fact  that  he 
mentions  his  ordination  to  the  priesthood  (Chap.  30) 
that  Jordan  Would  doubtlessly  have  informed  us  of  his 
ordination  to  the  deaconship  if  this  had  taken  place  in 
the  Order,  which  reasoning  seems  to  carry  little  weight 
when  we  consider  the  habitual  reticence  of  Jordan  about 
the  private  events  of  his  life.  In  Chapter  18  we  are  told 
that  he  attributes  the  absence  of  personal  acquaintance 
with  the  Martyr-Friars  of  Marocco  to  his  own  neglect  of 
the  opportunities  of  making  it.  He  must  have  belonged, 
then,  to  the  Order  at  the  time  of  their  mission  in  1218  or 


22  Chronica  Fratris  Joidaui  A  Giano 

1219,  so  that  we  may  place  the  time  of  his  reception  no 
later  than  1217  or  1218. 

We  leave  the  realm  of  conjecture  in  1221,  at  the  so- 
called  Chapter  of  Mats,  in  wiiich  Jordan  took  i>art :  ' '  Tale 
etiim  capitulum  tarn  in  fratrum  multitudine  quam  minis- 
frantium  soUemnitaie  non  vidi  in-  or  dine"  (Chap.  16). 
This  cbapter  was  to  deteTmine  the  future  career  of  our 
author.  Without  any  desire  on  his  part — ^on  the  contrary, 
entirely  against  his  inclination — he  was  assigned  to  the 
much-feared  expedition  into  Germany.  How  this  came 
about  he  tells  us  himself  in  his  own  inimitable  way.  Inci- 
dentally, we  'are  informed  tbat  he  had  been  assigned  to 
another  province,  and  tbat  the  friars  of  the  same,  know- 
ing his  delicate  health,  endeavored  to  retain  him  in  Italy. 
All  the  more  admirable,  therefore,  is  his  heroic  obedience, 
and  we  may  well  believe  Glassberger,  who  tells  us  in  his 
chronicle:  "Fuit  idem  f rater  Jordanus  .  .  .  vir 
magnae  obedientiae  qui  in  fratre  minore  nulla  signa 
sanctitatis  sine  ohedientia  venerabafur  aut  alicujus  mo- 
menti  reputabat"  {Chronica,  Anal.  Franc,  T.  II,  p.  54). 
Far  more  significant  than  the  amusing  turn  of  affairs 
that  brought  about  Jordan's  appoi'i¥tment  for  the  German 
mission  is  the  passage:  ''F rater  autem  Caesarius  ipsum 
secum  ducere  modis  omnibus  aff'ectahat"  (Chap.  18). 
The  sterling  qualities  of  the  man  were  apparently  well 
known  to  his  superiors,  and  especially  to  Fr.  Caesarius 
of  Speyer,  who  seems  to  have  been  his  personal  friend 
and  who  was  held  in  highest  esteem  by  our  Jordan.  Un- 
der the  leadership  of  this  saintly  man,  the  little  band  of 
volunteers  assembled  in  various  houses  of  the  Order  in 
Lombardy  and  awaited  the  commands  of  this  their  new 
minister,  who,  as  Jordan  tells  us,  left  St.  Francis  witli 
great  reluctance  and  obtained  his  permission  to  abide 
with  him  for  three  more  months  in  the  beloved  valley  of 
Spoleto.  When  the  time  at  last  had  arrived  for  starting 
on  the  difficult  journey,  Caesarius  called  together  Broth- 
ers John  of  Piano  Carpinis,  Barnabus,  the  German,  and 


Chronica  Frafris  Jordani  A  Giano  '23 

some  others  and  sent  tliem  ahead  to  Trent,  in  order  to 
provide  a  good  reception  for  the  other  friars,  who  fol- 
lowed in  small  parties  of  two  or  three. 

All  arrived  before  the  Feast  of  St.  Michael,  September 
29,  1221,  and  were  kindly  received  and  well  treated  by 
Bishop  Adelbert  of  Ravenstein  (1219-1223).  Some  of 
the  friars  remained  in  Trent;  the  others  continued  the 
journey  and  arrived  at  Bozen,  still  in  the  Diocese  of 
Trent,  where  the  Bishop  entertained  them  and  g-ave  them 
the  faculty  to  preach  in  his  diocese.  Thence  the  journey 
proceeded  to  Brixen,  where  again  they  found  and  enjoyed 
the  good  graces  of  Bishop  Berthold,  of  that  place.  After 
leaving  Brixen,  they  entered  the  mountainous  regions 
and  endured  many  hardships.  At  first  they  came  to 
Sterzing(en),  where  they  met  with  but  very  cold  treat- 
ment, and  had  to  continue  their  weary  way  hungry  and 
unrefreshed.  The  next  station  mentioned  by  Jordan  is 
Mittenwalde,  and  this  is  one  of  the  few  instances  where 
his  memory  deceives  him.  Greiderer  detected  this  error, 
and  corrects  him  in  his  "Germania  Franciscana"  (Oeni- 
ponte,  1777).' 

The  friars  spent  the  night,  then,  either  in  Lueg  or 
Gries,  according  to  Greiderer ;  Boehmer  mentions  Gossen- 
sass,  Gries  or  St.  Jodocus,  villages  sitnated  between 
Sterzing  and  Matrey.  However  this  may  be — ^and  it  cer- 
tainly is  of  minor  importance — the  friars  resumed  their 
journey  the  next  morning,  and  with  great  difficulty  and 


lifis  non  obstantibus  Chronicon  istud  (Jordani)  deficit  circa  sta- 
tionem  nocturnam  a  fratribus,  Brixina  moventibiis,  prima  die  fixam; 
gratis  enim  asserit  illos  circa  meridiem  Sterzingam  tetigisse  et  castra 
nocturna  in  loco  Mitteivald  metatos  esse.  Ratio:  Locus  Mittewald 
Brixinam  inter  et  Sterzingam  sedet  quattuor  horis  ab  eo,  et  tribus  ab 
ilia  amotus:  ergo  a  iratribus,  nisi  illis  iter  cancrinum  imputaveris  ut 
diversorium  nocturnum  attactus  non  fuit.  Fratres  inter  Sterzingam 
et  SteinacMum  in  loco  forte  Brenner,  Lueg  sive  Griess  noctem  tran- 
segisse  faciUus  credam.  XJnde  nee  opinioni  Hueberi  subscribo  qui 
eosdem  Sterzingae  pernoctasse  affirmat  nam  prolixum  iter  prima  die 
confectum,  aliasque  circumstantias  a  Chronico  MS.  tactas  minime 
salvat.  Tum  Minoritae  quorum  auctoritati  chronicon  innititur  facil- 
lime  potuerunt  oblivisci  nominis  loci  in  quo  de  nocte  haeserunt  cum  ut 
plurimum  alienigenae  extiterint"  (p.  15). 


24  Chronica  Fratris  Jordani  A  Giano, 

suffering  they  reached  Matrey,  now  Deutseh-MatreL  on 
the  Brenner.  Here  at  last  they  found  some  charitable 
souls  who  provided  them  with  bread,  and,  as  Jordan  tells 
us,  rather  ruefully,  "quia  tempus  raparum  tunc  erat, 
mendicando  rapas  quod  pani  deerat,  rapis  suppl  eve  runt" 
(Chap.  21). 

Being  thus  ''rather  filled  than  fed"  {magis  referti 
quam  refecti),  they  proceeded,  passing  through  many 
villages  and  castles  smd  monasteries  until  they  reached 
Augsburg.  Boehmer  acknowledges  the  correctness  of 
this  itinerary.  According  to  his  account,  they  followed 
the  ancient  Roman  road  from  Wilten-Innsbruck  to  Augs- 
burg in  preference  to  the  Brenner  road.  They  turned 
towards  the  west,  passing  Zirl,  and  then  in  a  northerly 
direction  they  traversed  the  mountain  pass  of  Scharnitz, 
whence  they  arrived  successively  at  Mittenwald,  Parten- 
kirchen,  Schoengau,  and  finally  Augsburg.  Bishop  Sieg- 
fried III  of'  Eechberg,  who  ruled  here  at  that  time,  gave 
them  a  most  affectionate  welcome.  So  favorable  was  the 
impression  they  made  on  the  Bishop  that  he  embraced 
each  one  singly,  while  his  nephew,  the  chancellor  of  his 
diocese,  even  placed  his  residence  at  their  disposal.  The 
same  cordiality  was  shown  to  them  by  clergy  and  people 
of  the  city. 

On  the  Feast  of  St.  Gall,  October  16,  1.221,  Brother 
Caesarius  of  Speyer  celebrated  the  first  chapter  in  Ger- 
many. At  this  chapter  Jordan  was  sent,  with  Brothers 
Constantine  and  Abraham,  to  Salzburg,  where,  according 
to  Greiderer  (p.  15),  they  found  high  favor  with  the  Arch- 
bishop. Jordan  remained  here  until  the  Chapter  of 
Worms,  1222.  The  icircumstances  leading  to  his  recall 
are  too  typically  "Jordanesque"  to  be  passed  over. 
Brother  Caesarius  had  sent  two  of  the  brothers  on  a  visit 
to  Salzburg  in  order  to  notify  the  little  community  under 
Jordan  that  "if  they  cared  to,  they  might  come  to  him." 
Now,  the  brothers  in  Salzburg,  who  were  entirely  devoted 
to  holy  obedience,  were  sorely  puzzled  about  the  wording 


Chronica  Fratris  Jordanl  A  Giano  25 

of  his  order,  namely,  that  "tliey  might  come  if  they  cared 
to  come."  After  consulting  one  another,  they  decided: 
"Let  lis  go  and  find  out  why,  inasmuch  as  we  want  noth- 
ing but  what  he  wants  himself,  he  did  write  to  us  after 
this  manner."  And  thus,  in  order  to  discover  whether 
they  should  leave  Salzburg,  they  traveled  all  the  way 
from  Salzburg  to  Worms  !  The  exceedingly  diverting  ad- 
ventures of  their  journey  one  must  read  in  Chapter  27. 
In  spite  of  Jordan's  reticence  on  the  point,  there  can  be 
little  doubt  that  the  wide-awake  friar  who  feared  that  the 
peasants'  "God  berad"  would  kill  them  that  very  day 
and  who  met  the  threatened  danger  by  his  "useful  decep- 
tion" was  our  Jordan  himself.  The  Feast  of  Pentecost, 
May  22,  1222,  they  spent  in  a  certain  village,  where 
they  attended  the  Holy  Sacrifice  and  edified  the  villagers 
to  such  an  extent  that  ' '  they  knelt  down  before  the  friars 
and  honored  their  very  footprints. ' '  Traveling  through 
Wuerzburg,  Mainz  and  Worms,  the  friars  came  to  Speyer, 
and  there  they  found  Brother  Caesarius.  Having  told 
him  their  grievance, ' '  why  he  had  written  to  them  in  such 
manner, ' '  he  excused  himself  and  explained  his  intention, 
and  thus  he  satisfied  their  scruples. 

We  do  not  hear  that  the  residence  in  Salzburg  was  con- 
tinued. Greiderer  mentions  it  among  the  places  accepted 
by  the  friars,  but  "per  modum  sedis  non  stabilis;"  that  is, 
merely  as  a  station  or  hospice  (p.  22).  Certain  it  is  that 
Jordan  was  not  sent  back,  since  Brother  Caesarius  was 
greatly  in  need  of  priests  for  his  growing  community, 
which  need  was  so  pressing  that  a  single  priest,  a  novice 
at  that,  had  to  travel  between  Worms  and  Speyer  in  order 
to  afford  the  brothers  the  consolation  of  attending  Mass 
on  the  high  feast  days  and  to  hear  their  confessions.  In 
the  same  year,  therefore,  Caesarius  had  three  of  his  com- 
panions— Brother  Palmerius  de  Monte  Gargano,  Abra- 
ham, the  Hungarian,  and  Andrew,  the  German,  who  be- 
fore his  entrance  into  the  Order  had  been  called  Hart- 
modus — promoted  to  the  Priesthood,  and  in  the  following 


26  Chronica  Fr<ifris  Jordani  A  Giano 

year,  March  8,  1223,  our  Jordan  also  was  ordained  a 
priest.  According  to  Mazzara  (XI,  44),  he  said  his  first 
Mass  at  Speyer.  For  an  entire  summer  he  was  ahnost 
the  only  priest  in  the  communities  at  Worms,  Mainz,  and 
Speyer.  Brother  Thomas  of  Celano  having  been  a})- 
pointed  custos  of  the  residences  in  Mainz,  Worms,  Co- 
logne, and  Speyer,  Jordan  passed  under  the  immediate 
jurisdiction  of  this  famous  friar,  also  a  warm  friend  of 
the  newly  ordained.  In  the  same  year  Brother  Caesarius 
of  Speyer,  overcome  by  yearning  to  be  with  St.  Francis 
and  his  companions  in  the  valley  of  Spoleto,  set  out  for 
Italy  with  Brother  Simon  and  some  other  companions, 
leaving  Brother  Thomas  of  Celano  as  his  vicar.  At  the 
Chapter  of  Portiuncula  he  obtained  from  St.  Francis  or 
Brother  Elias  a  discharge  from  his  duties  as  minister  of 
Germany.  His  administration  had  lasted  for  two  years, 
and  he  had  faithfully  performed  the  task  that  had  been 
assigned  to  him.  The  Order  was  now  firmly  established 
in  Germany.  Caesarius 's  successor  was  Brother  Albert  of 
Pisa,  who  immediately  upon  his  arrival  in  his  new  place 
of  activity  convened  a  chapter  at  Speyer.  This  was  cele- 
brated on  the  Feast  of  Our  Lady's  Nativity,  and  was 
attended  by  the  first  friars  as  well  as  the  newcomers  that 
had  been  brought  by  Albert  from  Italy.  We  find  our 
Jordan  as  guardian  of  Speyer,  and  he  had  the  honor  of 
celebrating  the  solemn  High  Mass  of  the  chapter.  Among 
the  ordinances  of  the  same  was  a  new  division  of  the  mis- 
sion of  Germany  into  the  custodies  of  Franconia  under 
Brother  Martins,  Bavaria  and  Suabia  under  Brother 
Angelus  of  Worms,  Alsace  under  Brother  James,  and 
Saxony  under  Brother  John  of  Piano  Carpinis.  Jordan 
seems  to  have  been  appointed  guardian  in  Mainz,  for  we 
find  him  in  this  office  in  1224,  when  he  was  sent  by 
Brother  Albert  to  Thuringia  in  order  to  establish  houses 
of  the  friars  in  that  region. 

With  seven  companions,  he  set  out  on  this  new  mission 
October  27,  and  arrived  at  Erfurt  on  St.  Martin's  day, 


Chrouica  Frafris  Jordaul  A  Giano  '11 

Novcnibcr  11,  X'l'lA:.  As  it  was  winter  aiul  liie  time  iin- 
l*a\(>iable  for  building,  the  friars  were  temporarily  given 
into  the  care  of  the  priest  who  ministered  to  the  lepers 
outside  the  city  walls  until  the  citizens  of  Erfurt  would 
find  better  acconnuodat ion  for  them.  The  companions  of 
Jordan  in  this  new  field  of  labor  were  Brother  Herrmann 
of  Weissensee,  already  a  priest,  Conrad  of  Wuerzburg, 
a  novice  in  subdeacon's  order,  Henry  of  .  Wuerzburg, 
also  a  TLOvice  and  subdeacon,  and  Arnold,  a  novice  in 
minor  orders.  Of  lay  brothers  there  were  Henry  of 
Cologne,  Gemot  of  Worms,  Conrad  of  Suabia,  and,  sul)- 
sequently,  John  of  Cologne  and  Henry  of  Hildesheim. 

In  1225  Jordan  sent  the  lay  brothers  to  various  places 
of  Thuringia  in  order  to  sound  the  disposition  of  the 
inhabitants  concerning  new  establishments  among  them. 
Brother  Herrmann  of  Weissensee,  the  priest,  followed 
them  in  their  mission.  Herrmann  had  been  chaplain  of 
tlie  house  of  the  knights  of  the  Teutonic  Order  in  Eisen- 
ach before  he  joined  the  Friars  Minor,  and  his  entry  into 
this  humble  community  did  much  to  increase  the  favorable 
impression  the  friars  had  made  on  the  citizens  of  that 
place.  Wherever  he  preached  the  word  of  God  the  entire 
city  flocked  together  to  hear  him.  Some  difficulties  aris- 
ing on  this  account  with  the  local  clergy,  he  invited 
Brother  Jordan  to  Eisenach,  and  under  Jordan's  direc- 
tion ever}i:hing  was  settled  satisfactorily.  Other  houses 
were  founded  or  accepted  in  Gotha,  Erfurt,  Nordhausen 
in  Saxony  and  in  Muhlhausen  of  the  same  country. 

In  the  same  year,  1225,  Brother  Albert  sent  Brother 
Nicholas,  a  native  of  the  Rhineland,  to  Jordan  as  adviser 
and  companion.  Boehmer  places  this  incident  within  the 
year  1231,  but  does  so  obviously  through  an  oversight 
caused  by  a  digression  made  in  the  narrative  by  Jordan, 
who,  in  the  preceding  chapter  (46),  mentions  the  return 
of  thb  friars  to  Miihlhausen,  which  happened  in  1231, 
after  a  temporary  abandonment  of  this  foundation.  Jor- 
dan sent  Nicolaus  to  Erfurt,  and  seems  to  have  been  em- 


28  Chronica  Fratris  Jordani  A  Giano 

barrassed  to  no  slight  degree  by  the  presence  of  this  good 
friar,  wlio  was  a  man  of  such  profound  humility  and  holy 
simplicity  ut  {Jordamis)  ipsum  ferre  vix  posset  et  infra 
sex  Jiebdomadas  venire  Erfordiam  non  auderet!  (Chap. 
47).  In  the  meantime,  Brother  James,  custos  of  Saxony, 
died  at  Magdeburg,  and  the  friars  applied  for  a  successor 
to  Brother  Albert  of  Pisa,  Minister-Provincial  of  Ger- 
many. The  latter  appointed  the  aforesaid  Nicholas,  and, 
well  knowing  his  profound  humility,  he  dared  not  send 
him  the  letters  of  obedience,  but  decided  to  approach  him 
in  person.  Coming  to  Erfurt,  he  called  upon  Jordan,  and 
it  was  evidently  at  the  latter 's  advice  that  he  employ e.d  a 
method  that  could  not  well  have  been  devised  by  any  but 
the  fertile  brain  of  our  "little  man  with  the  playful 
heart."  Having  summoned  Brother  Nicholas,  he  com- 
municated his  intentions  to  him,  whereupon  Nicholas 
forthwith  began  to  plead  his  ignorance  of  businjcss  and 
his  lack  of  every  qualification  that  makes  a  master  or 
prelate.  Brother  Albert  pounced  upon  this  expression, 
and,  feigning  to  be  highly  incensed,  he  retorted:  "And 
so  you  do  not  know  how  to  be  a  master!  Is  this  the  way 
you  look  upon  us  who  hold  office  within  the  Order?  Im- 
mediately confess  your  guilt  for  having  called  the  offices 
of  the  Order  masterships  and  prelatures,  when,  as  a  miat- 
ter  of  fact,  they  are  burdens  and  servantships!"  And 
when  poor  Brother  Nicholas  had  humhly  confessed  his 
fault.  Brother  Albert,  as  a  penance,  imposed  upon  him 
the  office  of  custos  of  Saxony!  This  office  he  retained 
until  1227,  when  Albert  w-as  called  to  the  General  Chapter 
convened  after  the  death  of  St.  Francis.  Before  his  de- 
parture, he  held  a  chapter  of  the  entire  province  of  Ger- 
many at  Mainz,  and  at  this  chapter  Brother  Nicholas  was 
appointed  Vicar-Provincial  during  Albert's  absence. 
Jordan  continued  as  custos  of  Thuringia. 

The  events  during  the  years  1227-1230  are  highly  com- 
plicated and  even  more  involved  is  their  narration  in 
Chapters  51-61,  so  that  we  have  to  reduce  it  to  some  such 


Chronica  Fratris  Jordani  A  Giano  29 

order  as  will  enable  iis  to  trace  the  various  events  of 
Jordan's  life  until  1231. 

Brother  Albert  of  Pisa  ceased  to  be  minister  of  Ger 
many  at  the  General  Chapter  of  1227,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Brother  Simon  of  England,  who  liad  been  custos  of 
Normandy  and  was  a  ''great  scholastic  and  theologian" 
(Chap.  52).  He  held  office  till  1228,  Avhen  he  was  ap- 
l)ointed  by  the  new  General,  John  Parenti,  lector  of 
theology  for  the  German  Province,  of  which  John  of 
Piano  Carpinis  then  became  minister.  Now,  in  1229 
Brother  John  of  Iilngland  had  been  sent  as  first  Visitor  to 
the  Gennan  Province.  When  John  of  Piano  Carpinis  de- 
parted for  the  General  Chapter  of  1230  he  instituted  this 
Brother  John  of  England  as  his  vicar  ad  interim.  In 
that  Chapter,  John  of  Piano  Carpinis  was  absolved  from 
the  ministership  of  Germany  and  was  transferred  in  the 
same  capacity  to  the  Province  of  Spain.  Brother  Simon 
of  England,  then  lector  of  theology,  was  reappointed 
to  the  Provineialate,  but  died  at  Magdeburg  June  14, 
1230,  before  the  letters  of  obedience  reached  him.  The 
German  Province  was  therefore  without  a  real  superior. 
Hence  a  chapter  was  convened  at  Worms,  and  our 
Jordan  was  delegated  to  proceed  to  Italy  to  ask  the  Gen- 
eral, John  Parenti,  for  the  appointment  of  a  new  min- 
ister. John  of  England,  who  had  been  left  as  Vicar-Pro- 
vincial by  John  of  Piano  Carpinis,  seems  to  have  relin- 
quished office  for  reasons  not  mentioned  in  the  Chronicle. 
Perhaps  he  had  left  immediately  upon  receiving  notice  of 
Brother  Simon's  appointment,  he  (John)  being  under 
the  impression  that  his  vicarship  had  expired  therewith. 
At  all  events,  we  find  him  in  Paris  at  the  time  of  his  insti- 
tution as  minister  of  Germany. 

Jordan,  having  entrusted  his  custody  of  Thuringia  to 
the  custos  of  Saxony,  set  out  for  Italy  with  letters  of  obe- 
dience from  Brother  Otto,  minister  of  the  Rhine.  Fol- 
lowing the  advice  of  Jordan,  the  General  appointed  John 
of  England,  who  still  belonged  to  the  Province  of  France, 


30  Chronica  Fratris  Jordani  A  Giano 

as  Minister-Provincial  of  Germany,  and  at  the  same  time 
Jordan  obtained  the  assignment  of  Brother  Bartholomew 
of  England  to  the  Lectorate  of  Theology  in  Germany, 
which  office  had  become  vacant  on  the  death  of  Brother 
Simon. 

On  his  return  journey  Jordan  visited  at  Assisi  liis 
friend  Thomas  of  Celano,  from  whom  he  received  some 
relics  of  the  holy  founder,  St.  Francis.  According  to 
Glassberger  {Anal.  Franc,  p.  53),  they  consisted  of  some 
of  the  h'air  and  particles  of  clothing  of  the  Saint.  Jor- 
dan's entry  into  the  custody  of  Thuringia  brought  liim 
the  greatest  triumph  of  his  life,  which  he,  in  his  humility, 
attributes  entirely  to  the  respect  for  the  Saint  whose 
relics  he  carried  with  him.  We  are  permitted,  however, 
to  differ  in  this  opinion  from  our  chronicler,  and  will  not 
be  mistaken  when  we  credit  some  of  the  extraordinary 
honors  he  received  at  his  entrance  into  the  friary  at 
Eisenach  to  the  joy  of  the  brethren  at  the  safe  arrival  of 
the  beloved  and  lovable  superior. 

No  other  arrangements  having  been  made  after  the 
departure  of  Brother  John  of  England  for  Paris,  Jordan 
seems  to  have  taken  charge  of  the  German  Province ;  for 
it  is  he  who,  after  the  flattering  reception  at  Eisenach, 
visited  the  custody  of  Saxony  and  chose  Brothers  John 
of  Penna  and  Adeodatus  to  betake  themselves  to  Paris 
and  serve  as  honorable  escort  to  Brothers  John  of  Eng- 
land aod  his  companion,  Bartholomew,  the  new  lector. 

After  the  arrival  of  the  new  Provincial,  John  of  Eng- 
land, our  chronicler  reassumed  his  duties  as  custos  of 
Thuringia,  and  doubtless  took  strenuous  part  in  the 
events  thait  culminated  in  the  appeal  of  the  Order  against 
the  maladministration  of  the  General,  Elias,  successor  to 
John  Parenti. 

We  enter  now  upon  the  stormiest  period  in  Franciscan 
history — the  times  of  Brother  Elias.  It  is  for  this  period 
tliat  Jordan  furnishes  most  valuable  information.  Ac- 
cording to  his  chronicle,  the  ambition  of  Elias,  laudable  in 


Chronica  Frafris  Jordani  A  Giano  31 

itself,  to  finish  as  speedily  as  possible  tlie  magnificent 
Church  of  St.  Francis  at  Assisi  and  the  extortionate  de- 
mands upon  the  brethren  that  resulted  therefrom  were 
the  immediate  cause  of  general  dissatisfaction.  Elias 
held  not  a  single  General  Chapter  for  the  space  of  seven 
years ;  he  issued  many  decrees  detrimental  to  tlie  welfare 
of  the  Order  and  unmercifully  banished  into  remote  prov- 
inces the  brethren  who  resisted  him.  Under  the  leader- 
ship of  Alexander  of  Hales  and  John  of  Rupella  (always 
according  to  Jordan),  the  friars  decided  upon  a  common 
course  of  action.  Matters  were  brought  to  a  crisis  when 
Elias,  in  1237,  appointed  a  number  of  visitors  whom  he 
selected  for  this  delicate  task,  not  in  accordance  with 
their  fitness  but  on  the  strength  of  their  blind  submission 
to  his  despotic  rule. 

In  1238  the  friars  of  the  Saxon  (Grerman)  Province 
appealed  to  the  General,  Elias,  against  the  visitor  who 
had  been  imposed  upon  them.  As  their  appeal  naturally 
fell  on  deaf  ears,  they  commissioned  Brother  Jordan  to 
bring  their  grievances  directly  to  the  highest  ecclesiastical 
authority,  the  Pope  himself.  Jordan  gives  us  a  most 
amusing  description  of  his  interview  with  the  Holy 
Father  and  the  absolutely  original  diplomacy  he  employed 
in  order  to  gain  a  hearing  from  Gregory  IX  (Chap.  63). 
We  can  hardly  blame  Sabatier  when  he  says  in  Vie  de  S. 
Francois  d' Assise  (18th  Edition,  1896,  XCVI)  :  "En 
lisant  so,  chronique,  on  croit  entendre  les  souvenirs  d'un 
vieux  soldat,  oil  certains  details  sans  valeur  sont  saisis  et 
presentes  avec  une  puissance  de  relief  extraordinaire,  ou 
le  narrateur  ne  sait  pas  resister  a  la  tentation  de  se  mettre 
en  scene,  au  risque  pdrfois  d'emhellir  un  peu  la  seche 
realite,"  and  in  the  footnote:  ''II  ne  me  semhle  pas 
qu'on  puisse  regarder  cow  me  rigoureusement  exacte  la 
relation  de  Vent  revue  de  Gregoire  IX  et  de  Jourdain" 
( Jord.,  63) .  The  incident  would  indeed  be  almost  incredi- 
ble with  anyone  except  our  Jordan,  but  no  one  could  read 
his  chronicle  up  to  Chapter  63  without  gaining  the  convic- 


32  Chronicd  Frdfris  Jordani  A  Giano 

tioTL  of  the  simple  good  faith  and  absolute  truthfulness 
of  the  narrat6r.  At  any  rate,  Jordan  gained  his  point 
and  opened  the  way  to  a  speedy  presentation  of  the  appeal 
made  by  the  friars  who  had  assembled  in  Rome.  The 
result  of  the  hearings  before  the  Holy  Father  was  the 
order  to  the  friars  to  return  to  their  provinces  and  ap- 
point there  the  members  of  a  special  commission  of  dele- 
gates, who  were  to  be  taken  from  among  those  most  inter- 
ested in  the  needed  reforms,  and  who  were  to  assemble 
four  weeks  in  advance  of  the  General  Chapter  to  be  held 
in  1239.  This  commission  of  twenty  fratres  maturi  et 
discreti  met  in  Rome  at  the  time  indicated.  Wliether 
Jordan  belonged  to  it  or  not  is  not  quite  clear.  He  makes 
no  special  mention  of  the  fact,  and  I,  for  one,  see  in  his 
silence  merely  the  natural  omission  of  a  statement  that 
is,  from  the  whole  context,  to  be  taken  for  granted.  It 
would  have  been  passing  strange  if  the  man  best  ac- 
<iuainted  with  the  burning  questions  of  the  time  and  wlio 
had  served  as  such  an  able  delegate  to  the  Curia  before 
liad  been  overlooked  in  their  final  settlement.  The  ordi- 
nances passed  in  this  General  Chapter  are  briefly  summed 
up  in  Chapters  65-68.  One  of  them  was  a  new  division  of 
the  provinces,  and  it  is  very  probable  that  it  was  this  new 
division  that  caused  a  reorganization  of  the  extensive 
German  administration  with  the  establishment  of  a  sepa- 
rate Custody  of  Poland  and  Bohemia.  Such  must  have 
been  the  case  if  the  letters  about  the  incursions  of  the 
Tartars  are  from  the  hand  of  our  Jordan,  who,  at  least  as 
far  as  his  chronicle  is  concerned,  leaves  us  entirely  in  the 
dark  as  to  his  whereabouts  from  1239-1242.  In  vain  have 
I  ransacked  all  available  sources  for  a  direct  confirmation 
of  his  stay  in  Poland  and  Bohemia.  That  most  unsatis- 
factory of  chroniclers,  John  Komerowski,  tells  us  in 
his  "Breve  Memoriale"  (Monum.  Poloniae,  T.  V,  p.  94) : 
''Doctor  autem  Myechovita,  in  cronica  Polone  dicit  quod 
Boleslaus  Pudicus  anno  Domini  1237  persuasione  geni- 
tricis  sue  Grzimislave  in  annis  puericie  existens,  ex  Praga 


Chronica  Fidfris  Jordaui  A  Giano  33 

f  rat  res  Minor  es  Cracovlain  induxit  pro  ecclesih  monas- 
ferioque   locum  ampliim   dando   et   eadem  omnia  edifi- 
carif  de  coctis  lateribus  suis  impensis.    In  Toruniam  in- 
troducti  sunt  fratres  per  Popum  magistrum  Prussie  et 
els  omnia  edificavit  anno  Domini  1236.    Cenohium  Gnez- 
nae  Minorissarum  et  Monasterium  fratrum  Minorum  Dux 
Boleslaus  Pyus  Calisiensis  fundavit  et  villis  dotavit  et 
libertavit  1259.    Et  post  alia  loca  suscepta  sunt  in  Polonia. 
In  luniuiadislavia  quidaui  dux  edificavit  claustrum  cum 
civitate  pariter."    It  appears,  then,  from  this  passage, 
that  the  period  of  the  introduction  of  the  Order  into  Po- 
land is  to  be  found  during  the  time  that  forms  a  gap  in 
the  history  of  Jordan.    It  is  also  certain  that  this  spread 
of  the  Order  into  Poland  and  Bohemia  proceeded  from 
the  German  Province,  for  both  Jordan  ( Chronica,  Chaj). 
55)   and  Komerowski   (Tractatns  Cronice,  ed.  Zeisberg, 
p.  317)  inform  us  that  John  of  Piano  Oarpinis:  " Ordinis 
sui  dilatator  maximus  fuit.    Minister  enim  f actus  in  Bo- 
liemiam,  in  Ungariam,  in  Poloniam,  in  Daciam  et  Norive- 
giam  fratres  misit."     Moreover,  the  provenance  from 
the  pen  of  Jordan  of  the  letters  (on  the  Tartar  invasion) 
has  been  fully  discussed  and  seems  sufficiently  established 
(chapter  on  preparation  of  Latin  text).     There  seems, 
then,  to  be  no  reason  to  doubt  that  Jordan,  soon  after  his 
return  from  the  General  Chapter  of  1239,  was  appointed 
superior  of  the  newly  fonned  custody  of  Poland  and 
Bohemia,  and  that  he  administered  this  office  till  1242, 
when  he  was  appointed  Vicar-Provincial  of  the  German 
Province  by  the  Minister-General,  Haymo  of  Faversham, 
who  had  presided  at  the  Chapter  of  Aldenburg  in  that 
year.    I  flatter  myself  to  have  discovered  some  additional 
evidence  for  this. 

In  the  same  chapter  of  the  '^ Chronica  Majora"  (M.  G. 
SS.,  XXVIII,  206-207),  wherein  Matthew  Paris  has  in- 
serted the  letters  of  Jordan,  there  are  two  letters  of  Land- 
grave Henry  Easpe  to  his  brother-in-law,  Duke  Henry  II 
of  Brabant  and  Lonvain,  that  bear  a -most  remarkable 


34 


Chronica  Fratris  Jordani  A  Giano 


resemblance,  both  in  style  and  content,  to  the  three  letters 
of  Jordan.  Thus,  to  take  just  some  random  examples, 
we  find  in  the  first  letter  of  the  Landgrave  ; 


l*ci-icula  aiiti(Hiitus  in  sci-ip- 
turis  Sauctiis  jn-aedicta,  jici- 
catis  nostri.s  exigent il)ns  nunc 
pulliilant  et  erunipunt.    .     .     . 


Hiis  etiani  adjicinnis  quod 
magna  pars  ejusdem  detesta 
bilis  gentis  cum  exercitu  alio 
illi.s  adjecto  Hungariani  inau- 
dita  va.stat  tvrauuide. 


Veraciter  enim  et  pleue  uo- 
bis  constat  quod  eadem  gens 
Tartarorum  circiter  Octavas 
Paschae  terras  Boemoruni 
crudeliter  et  impetuose  in- 
vadet.     .     .     . 


Jordan,  letter  ;5,  p.  I'UJJ : 
(inoniani  agentibus  jjeccatis 
lioniinuni  .  .  .  diu  praes- 
(•i!a  et  i)raedicta  venit  trihu- 
latio  .  .  .  (piae  juxta  I'eri- 
tateni  jam  olim  de  se  Scrip- 
tura     prelibatum     testimonio. 

Jordan,  letter  I,  p.  207 : 
Alii  exercitui  veuienti  i)er 
Hungariam  occurerunt  et 
ja-aevalentes  dicuntur  modo 
poiissinuun  partem  Hunga- 
riae,    expulso   rege    possidere. 

Jordan,  ihid: — 

Isto  autem  anno  venientes 
ante  Pascha  in  Poloniam  bo- 
nas  civitates  pluribus  inter- 
feetis  optinneruut. 
Procedentes  de  Polonia  tiues 
Tlieutoniae   attigerunt.    .    .    . 


In  both  letters  of  the  Landgrave  we  find  the  phrase : 

Et  ut  multa  paucis  perstringamus  .  .  .  adeo  op- 
primitur,     .     .     .     cum  dicti  homines.     .     .     . 

In  Jordan,  second  letter : 

Quare  vobis  licet  magna  pericula,  perstricto  tanien  sev- 
mone,  vestram  duximus.     .     .     . 

In  letter  I  of  the  Landgrave  we  are  informed  that: 
Nos  autem  ininisterio  praelatorum  nostrorum,  Predica- 
torum  et  Minorum,  crucem  facimus,  quia  Crucifixi  res 
agitur,  generaliter  praedicari.     .     .     . 

In  his  second  letter  the  same  phrase  recurs : 

■Nos  vero  de  superni  judicis  honitate  et  misericordia 
confisi  humiliter  sanctors  viros  Praedicatores  et  Minores 
ut  toti  populo  Christiano  ducatui  siibdito  crucem,  ora- 
tiones  afflictiones  et  jejunia  praedicent,  etc. 


CJtrotiicd  Fratris  Jorfhnii  .1  G'lano  35 

It  is  apparent  from  tliese  letters  of  Landgrave  Henry 
tbat  he  availed  himself  of  the  aid  of  the  Friars,  Preachers 
and  Minor  to  arouse  the  attention  of  the  princes  of 
Europe  to  the  terrible  menace  threatening  Christendom 
through  the  irruptions  of  the  Tartars,  and  that  he  en- 
gaged them  to  preach  the  Cross  against  these  barbarians. 
Naturalh',  the  first  one  he  would  have  turned  to  was  the 
Superior  of  the  Custody  of  Thuringia,  and  this  was,  dur- 
ing this  critical  time,  our  Jordan.  One  of  Jordan's  letters 
opens  with :  Fratribus  universis  f  rater  R.  de  Ordine 
PredicatontiiL  et  I{ordanus)  de  ordine  fratriun  Mino- 
rum;  the  second,  Illustri  principi  Henrico  duci  Brahantiae 
frater  Jordanus  viceminister  frutrum  Minornm  Regni 
Boemiae  et  Polemie;  the  third,  Karissimis  Christi  fideli- 
bus  universis  .  .  .  frater  Jordanus  ordinis  fratrum 
Minorum,  vicarins  prorincie  Polemie. 

Jordan,  then,  was  (1)  one  of  the  preachers  of  a  crusade 
against  the  Tartars,  and  this  at  the  behest  of  the  Land- 
grave of  Thuringia.  (2)  To  judge  by  the  style  of  the  let- 
ters of  Landgrave  Henry,  Jordan  seems  to  have  served 
as  his  adviser  and  j^robably  secretary  in  the  composition 
of  his  appeals.  (3)  Since  one  of  Jordan's  letters  is 
directed  to  Duke  Henry  of  Brabant,  and  in  view  of  the 
words  of  Henry  of  Thuringia  (I  letter),  "cum  vobis 
nostros  nuntios  iterato  direxerimus, "  it  seems  not  im- 
probable that  he  served  as  special  ambassador  of  tlie 
Landgrave  to  Duke  Henry  of  Brabant.  (4)  It  was  very 
probable,  on  account  of  Jordan's  active  interest  in  the 
prevention  of  further  devastations  by  the  Tartars,  that 
his  superiors  appointed  him  to  the  perilous  office  of  vice- 
minister  or  custos  of  Poland,  so  that  he  might  be  the  better 
able  to  further  the  alliance  against  these  savages,  for 
which  all  well-wishers  of  Christian  civilization,  the  Em- 
l^eror  Frederic  II  for  once  included,  were  laboring  at  that 
time.  The  evidence  for  all  this  is  very  strong,  one  might 
even  say  conclusive.  The  only  objection,  and  it  is  a  diffi- 
cult one  to  meet,  is  the  complete  silence  of  Jordan  in  his 


36  Chronica  Fratris  Jordani  A  Giano 

cliroiiicle.  I  do  not  attacli  iniicli  \alue  to  the  argunien- 
tum  e  silentio,  yet  it  is  remarkable  that  our  chronicler 
should  not  have  one  word  to  say  al)oiit  a  i)eriod  of  liis  life 
that  must  have  been  filled  with  some  of  the  most  stirring 
experiences  that  fell  within  even  his  adventurous  career, 
and  which  must  have  left  a  deep  impression  on  his  mem- 
ory. But  we  must  remember  that  Jordan  can  be  most 
provokingly  reticent  on  otlier  very  important  at^'airs  that 
surely  came  under  his  personal  observations.  He  barely 
mentions  St.  Elizabeth,  tell  us  nothing  about  her  life  and 
the  persecutions  she  had  to  suffer  at  the  hands  of  this 
Landgrave  Henry  Raspe,  whom  Jordan  must  have  known 
so  well;  Caesarius  of  Speyer,  his  beloved  and  much  ad- 
mired friend,  disappears  entirely  from  the  chronicle  after 
his  return  to  Italy,  and  Jordan,  who  might  have  been  a 
most  valuable  witness  to  the  later  history  of  that  famous 
friar,  gives  us  no  particle  of  information  about  his  tragic 
fate  or  his  death,  which  is  still  shrouded  in  sinister  mys- 
tery. He  must  have  known  the  facts  about  John  of  Piano 
Carpinis's  journeys  to  Tartary  and  China,  but,  for  all  we 
can  gather  from  the  recital  of  Jordan,  the  identity  of  this 
associate-founder  of  the  Franciscan  Order  in  Germany 
with  the  famous  missionary  would  still  be  problematical. 
Jordan's  Chronicle,  we  must  not  forget,  is  the  artless 
story  of  a  veteran  told  in  all  simplicity  to  the  younger 
generation ;  we  must  not  look  in  it  for  strict  continuity  or 
completeness,  least  of  all  regarding  events  that  might  re- 
dound to  the  personal  glorification  of  the  humble  friar. 
And  tlius  the  reticence  of  Jordan  may  w^ell  be  considered 
outbalanced  by  the  extraneous  testimony  to  his  career  in 
Poland  taken  from  the  Chronica  Majora. 

The  last  notice  about  himself  is  given  in  Chapter  71 
where  we  are  told,  as  has  been  mentioned  before,  of  his 
appointment  to  the  vicariate  of  the  German  Province  by 
Brother  Haymo  of  Faversham.  He  held  this  office  until 
the  arrival  of  the  new  Minister-Provincial,  Brother  Gott- 
fried.    Hereafter  no  mention  is  made  of  Jordan.     We 


Clironicu  Fr<ifrts  Jordani  A  Giano  37 

are  told  in  the  Prologue  of  his  Chroiiiele  that  at  the  Chap- 
ter of  Halberstadt  in  12G2,  he  yielded  to  the  unanimous 
request  of  liis  confreres  and  dictated  his  memoirs  to 
Brother  Baldwin  of  Bi-andenburg'.  The  date  of  his  death 
is  unknown.  Inasmuch  as  he  describes  himself  in  this 
Prologue  as  ''jam  senex  et  debilis"  we  will  not  go  far 
wrong  in  placing  it  within  the  immediately  following 
years.  John  Komerowski  indeed  tells  us:  "Ef  f rater 
Jordanus,  prefatus,  qui  a  principio  scripsit  cronicam 
usque  ad  tempora  Bonagratiae  Generalis  et  Nicolai  III." 
(Tract.  Cron.  ed.  Zeisberg,  p.  316.)  But,  as  Mr.  Boeh- 
mer  remarks  (Intr.,  p.  XXIV),  this  merely  proves  that 
Komerowski  copied  from  a  version  of  the  chronicle  that 
contained  the  first  chapters  of  the  so-called  "Continuatio 
Saxonica,"  which,  according  to  Lemmens  (Arch.  Franc. 
Hist.,  Vol.  3,  p.  49),  may  have  been  added  by  Baldwin  of 
Brandenburg,  but  which  are  certainly  not  a  part  of  the 
dictation  of  Jordan. 

He  found  his  last  resting  place  in  Magdeburg.  Ac- 
cording to  Boehmer  the  first  mention  of  this — other  testi- 
monies have  been  cited  in  the  first  paragraph  of  this 
biography — is  found  in  the:  "Compilation  d 'Avignon, 
Fac  secundum  exemplar,  voir  le  manuscript  (B)  de 
notre  text,  f.  123:  in  Mandeburch  f rater  Jordanus  de 
Italia.  On  la  trouve  dans  la  Cliron.  XXIA".  Gener.,  p. 
137  et  dans  Barthelemy  de  Pise,  L.  I.,  f r.  8 ;  on  ne  pent 
malheureusement  pas  fixer  cette  date  exactement,  car  les 
documents  et  le  necrologe  du  convent  franciscan  de 
Magdebourg  qui  devraient  nous  renseigner  sont  perdus. 
Voir  "Magdeburgische  Gesehichtsblatter, "  T.  5,  p.  532. 
"J'ai  aussi  cherche  le  nom  de  Jourdain  dans  toutes  les 
recueils  de  documents  imprimes  soit  de  la  Saxe,  soit  de  la 
Thuringe.  Mais  je  ne  I'ai  trouve  nulle  part."  (Intr. 
LXIII-LXIV.) 

Very  probably  these  sources,  like  so  many  other  docu- 
ments of  Franciscan  history,  fell  victim  to  the  storms  of 


38  Chronlcd  Fratris  Jordani  A   Guuto 

the  Reforiiiaiion  and  of  tlic  wars  upon  religions  lionses 
dnring  the  periods  of  "Enlightenment"  and  '"Josephin- 
ism,"  not  to  mention  the  neglect  of  the  friars  themselves. 
{Franziskanische  Studien,  Vol.  1,  p.  65  ff.) 

The  "Chronica"  is  the  best  self-revelation  of  the  char- 
acter and  disposition  of  our  hero.  Every  page  witnesses 
to  the  accuracy  of  tlie  i)ortrait  painted  in  the  words  of 
Glassberger  :  "This  Brother  Jordan,  how^ever,  was  one  of 
the  first  friars  sent  by  the  Blessed  Erancis  into  Germany. 
He  was  a  man.  of  dark  complexion,  small  stature,  of  cheer- 
ful heart,  benevolent  and  ever  ready  for  every  kind  of 
good  deed.  He  was  a  man  of  great  obedience  who  re- 
spected no  mark  of  sanctity  in  a  friar  minor  or  accounted 
it  of  any  moment,  without  obedience.  {Chronica,  Anal. 
Franc,  ^"ol.  2,  p.  54.)  Obedience  is  indeed  the  key  to 
his  whole  life,  from  the  moment  when,  in  disregard  of  his 
own  most  ardent  wishes  and  tlie  delicate  state  of  his 
health,  he  accepted  the  formidable  mission  to  Germany, 
to  the  last  recorded  act  of  his  life,  when  at  the  wish  of 
the  Provincial  he  dictated  his  memoirs  to  Baldwin,  "quia 
crimen  ariolandi  est  nolle  acquiescere  et  scelus  idolola- 
triae  nolle  obedire."  Of  Jordan's  cheerfulness  we  are 
given  abundant  evidence ;  it  falls  like  a  friendly  sunshine 
athwart  his  weary  wanderings  across  the  length  and 
breadth  of  Germany,  his  travels  to  Italy,  his  meeting  even 
with  the  august  head  of  Christendom,  the  Holy  Father  in 
Rome.  No  matter  how  difficult  or  trying  the  situation, 
he  is  never  forsaken  by  the  saving  grace  of  humor  and 
can  extract  a  smile  from  hunger,  thirst  and  weariness 
of  soul  and  body. 

Voigt  seriously  attempts  to  make  our  Jordan  something 
of  a  rationalist  and  sceptic  regarding  the  miracles  of  St. 
Francis  and  tlie  universal  belief  in  the  sanctity  of  the 
holy  Founder.  And  this,  forsooth,  because  Jordan  does 
not  mention  any  of  the  wonderful  deeds  of  the  Saint  with 
the  exception  of  the  events  narrated  in  Chapter  59.  The 
same  sinister  twist  is  given  to  the  quite  innocent  expres- 


(liyoulcd  Fnifris  .Jonldul  A   (liana  .')!> 

sion  of  onr  friend:  "Et  ex  tunc  f rater  Jordamis  hcatuiih 
FraiiclscKin — in  majori  rcverentia  cepit  habere,  etc." 

It  is  hardly  necossary  to  refute  these  oiitt*roi)i)ings  of 
dense  prejudice  in  the  mind  of  an  otherwise  most  esti- 
nial)k^  scliohir.  It  has  been  ably  done  hy  the  editors  of  i\\Q. 
(^)uaraechi  edition  of  our  chronicle.  Nowhere  is  the  (tr<)a- 
iiientuui  e  silent io  of  less  value  than  in  our  Jordan,  and 
Voigt,  in  working  it  to  death,  permits  his  wishes  to  be 
father  of  the  thought.  It  took  indeed  all  the  preconceived 
opinions  of  a  mind  entirely  out  of  sympathy  with  Catholic 
sentiment  to  establish  such  a  theory,  and  no  one  would 
have  been  more  horrified  and  indignant  than  our  Jordan 
at  seeing  such  a  construction  put  upon  his  speech  or  his 
silence. 

Wadding  (T.  II.)  and  Melissanus  de  Macro  (Suppl., 
]).  25(3-7)  tell  us  that  Jordan  was  among  other  things 
" vir  doctissimus  et  doctrinae  parem  habuit  pietateni." 
I  agree  with  Voigt  in  his  remark  (p.  435),  '^ ivdhrend  ivir 
freilicJi  versucht  sind  seine  einfache  Frdmmigkeit  holier 
zu  stellen."  True  as  this  is,  Boehmer,  on  the  other  hand, 
goes  too  far  when  he  denies  him  all  claim  to  a  higher 
clerical  education.  He  writes:  ''Jourdain  avait  la  cul- 
ture qui  etait  a  cette  epoque  celle  du  bas  clerge.  Ce  n'etait 
pas  un  savant. ' '  The  passages  from  the  prologue,  quoted 
in  support  of  this  criticism,  are  merely  the  conventional 
apologies  affected  by  almost  every  writer.  Undoubtedly 
' '  II  sait  aussi  fort  bien  qu  'il  n'ecrit  pas  un  Latin  elegant. ' ' 
Nor  am  I  going  to  vindicate  for  him  Ciceronian  or  classic 
Latinity.  But  I  deny  that  "sitot  qu'il  essaye  de  se  servir 
de  phrases  un  pen  longnes,  comme  dans  le  Prologue  de 
son  Libellus,  son  langue  devient  lourd  ou  off  re  meme  des 
defauts  de  construction."  Far  from  being  heavy,  I  ven- 
ture to  say  that  the  Ijatin  of  Jordan  is  remarkably  clear 
and  that  no  one  with  any  reading  knowledge  of  Latin  and 
a  fair  smattering  of  its  medieval  variety,  need  twice 
peruse  a  single  sentence  of  his  Chronicle  in  order  to  make 
out  exactly  what  he  wants  to  say.    And  this  is  no  mean 


40  Chronica  Frafris  Jordani  A  Giano 

praise  which  the  present  writer  woiikl  be  (piitc  liai)py  to 
deserve  for  himself.  Jordan's  Latin  is  the  language  of  a 
man  impregnated  with  the  diction  of  Holy  Writ  and  not 
without  a  certain  knowledge  of  the  Fathers.  Such  as  it 
is,  he  writes  it  with  facility  and  mastery.  Of  course,  if 
we  consider  language  merely  for  language's  sake,  he  can- 
not be  numbered  among  the  elect,  but  as  a  medium  of 
communication  he  handles  his  Latin  well  and  effectively. 
What  Boehmer  calls  "vulgarism  italiens"  are  common 
usages  of  medieval  Latinity.  Certainly  Boehmer  has  not 
been  very  fortunate  in  selecting  his  specimens.  The  parti- 
tives with  "de"  instead  of  the  genitive  are  of  quite  re- 
spectable antiquity  and  can  be  found  frequently  among 
Latin  writers  of  classical  as  well  as  post-classical  time. 
" De  reliquiis,"  Chap.  59  (qui  gavisus  dedit  ei  de  reliquiis 
Beati  Francisci"),  can  be  paralleled  by  ''Date  nobis  de 
oleo  vestro  quia  lampades  nostrae  extinguuntur"  (Matth. 
25,  8),  ''nisi  mannm  mitterent  ad  radicem"  (Chap.  63), 
finds  its  parallel  in  Luc.  9,  62:  "Nemo  mittens  manum 
suam  ad  aratrum."  If  these  are  "vulgarismes  italiens," 
they  are  certainly  of  quite  venerable  antiquity  and  not 
at  all  peculiar  to  Jordan.  Chapter  l-t,  we  find  Boehmer 
taking  exception  to  "verecundia"  as  an  Italianism  for 
"vergogna;"  but  rerecundia,  in  the  sense  of  "confusion, 
disgrace,"  etc.,  is  used  in  Ps.  43,  16:  "Tota  die  rere- 
cundia mea  contra  me  est,  et  confusio  faciei  meae 
cooperuit  me ; "  in  I  Cor.  6,  5 :  "  Ad  verecimdiani  vestram 
dico. "  In  a  similar  sense  we  find  it  in  Suetonius,  Dom.  1 8 : 
"Commendari  se  verecundia  oris  adeo  sentiebat,  etc.;" 
Livy,  24,  42,  9 :  '^Verecundia  Eomanos  tandem  cepit,  Sa- 
guijtum  sub  hostium  potestate  esse."  "Subito"  (Chap. 
15),  in  the  sense  of  "all  at  once"  or  "quickly"  may  be 
found  in  III  Kings,  20,  40:  "Dum  autem  ego  turbatus 
hue  illucque  me  verterem  subito  non  comi)aruit;"  Luke 
9,  39:  "et  subito  claniat,  et  elidit,  etc."  Cic.  Fam.  Coel. 
ad  Cic.  8,  7 :  "  Breviores  has  litteras  tabellario  properanti 
subito  dedi."    Whv  should  "venire"  in  Chai)ter  17  (iiuod 


Chronica  Fiat  lis  Jordani  A  Giano  41 

ordiiiis  edillcatio  in  Tlicutoiiiam  iiuu  vcuissot)  have  to  be 
translated  by  ''reiissir"?  And  how  can  this  be  styled  an 
Italianism?  The  sense  of  the  passage  certainly  implies 
no  more  than:  the  si)read  of  the  order  had  not  yet  reached 
Germany.  And  the  use  of  ''venire"  is  quite  obvious  and 
natural.  There  is  no  reason  to  insist  on  an  interpretation 
like:  '*The  establishment  of  the  order  had  not  yet  suc- 
ceeded in  Germany,"  as  Boehmer  seems  to  imply.  Nor 
can  I  see  what  fault  is  to  be  found  with  "in  part  em  se 
traherent"  (Chap.  17).  Cicero,  F^ro  vSylla,  77,  has:  "in 
iminorum  partem  at(ju('  in  parricidarum  numerum  trans- 
ferre;"  Mark,  6,  40:  "Et  discubuerunt  in  partem  per 
centenos. ' '  Coloss.  1:12:  ' '  Qui  dignos  nos  fecit  in  partem 
sortis  sanctorum."  While  these  passages  are  not  ex- 
actly i^arallels,  they  at  least  render  it  doubtful  whethei- 
Jordan  was  imitating  the  Italian  idiom  ' ' a  parte. ' '  Chap- 
ter ly :  "Praecipere  per  obedientiam"  is  ancient  usage  in 
the  language  of  religious  life  and  no  ''Italianism"  what- 
ever. The  same  might  be  said  about  "de  licentia"  (Chap. 
19),  although  a  similar  usage,  in  place  of  "secundum,"  is 
not  unknown  even  to  Suetonius,  Tit.  5 :  "De  more  rituque 
priscae  religionis ; ' '  and,  Tib.  13  :  "  de  consilii  sententia. ' ' 
Ca:»sar,  B.  G. :  8,  54:  "de  sententia  adversariorum." 
Other  instances  might  be  multii)lied.  "Disponere"  in 
Chapter  10  and  .Chapter  19,  must  not  necessarih'  be  a 
reflex  from  the  Italian  "disporre."  Chapter  10:  "His 
itaque  dispositis, — et  redire  disponeret — ;"  Chapter 
19:  "et  cum  iter  arripere  disponeret" — .  The  usage 
is  quite  frequent  in  Biblical  Latin.  Nor  is  it  tabooed  ])y 
the  ancients,  as  any  good  dictionary  will  show.  The  pas- 
sage "ubi  cum  magna  penuria  de  duobus  buccellis  et  VII 
rapis  malum  famis  miserae  et  sitim  gaudio  cordis  temper- 
abant"  (Chap.  21)  is  evidently  a  reminiscence  of  Genesis, 
41,  57  :  "lit  emerent  escas  et  malum  inopiae  temperarent." 
"In  sero"  (Chap.  21)  need  not  be  a  "vulgarism." 
"Serum"  is  certainly  a  good,  old  substantive  and  if  we 
find  Liv.  10,  28:     "In  serum  noctis  convivium  i)roduc- 


42  CJuouicd  Vtair'is  Jorrhnii  J   Giano 

tiuii,"  and  "in  sciuin.  dimicationc  i)r()tracta"  (Suet. 
Aug.  17),  we  may  excuse  Jordan  for  coining  "quod  in 
sero  renirent."  In  Chai)ter  '27  we  find  " posuit  se  in 
hancum/'  wliicli  latter  word  is  also  included  in  the  list  of 
"Italianisms"  by  Boelimer.  But  "banciis"  is  used  by  a 
goodly  number  of  medieval  writers  outside  of  Italy  as, 
among  others,  the  article  "hancus"  in  the  "Glossarium 
Archaiologicum"  of  Henrrcus  Spelmannus  will  demon- 
strate. "Ciilpatus"  resp.  "culpare"  translated  by  Boeli- 
mer "hlamer"  will  be  found  used  in  tliis  sense  by  such 
ancient  Italians  as  Plautus,  Ovid,  Horace,  Suetonius, 
Quintillian  and  others.  We  ought,  then,  readily  forgive 
our  Jordan  the  employment  of  this  "italianism."  ^'♦S'e 
infroDiiftere"  (Chap.  58)  may  be  the  Italian  "Intro- 
mettersi,"  but  we  find  it  also  in  other,  non-Italian  writers 
of  the  Middle  Ages,  as  Ducange  mentions  under  that 
word.  Among  users  of  "attediare"  (attaediare)  we  find, 
according  to  Ducange,  Joannes  Major,  "De  Gestis  Scoto- 
rum,"  Ericus  Upsalensis  in  "Historia  Suecorum"  and 
others.  How  anybody  can  read  a  "vulgarism  italien" 
into  " terminare"  {Chains.  17  and  78),  is  a  mystery  to 
me.  It  is  good  Latin.  There  are  other  expressions  in 
Jordan  that  do  smack  of  Italian  derivation  and  which 
Boehmer  does  not  mention,  ex.  gr.  " passagio,"  " dis- 
cutiat,"  "in  continenfi/'  " auscultavit"  (in  the  sense  of 
' ' inquiring ") ,  " dpnariatas,' '  ' ' scutellas, "  " septimanis, ' ' 
"importuna  instantia;"  but  they  are  used  in  Latin  writ- 
ings in  medieval  times  in  every  country  of  Europe  and 
certainly  do  not  prove  anything  for  or  against  the  na- 
tionality of  their  writer. 

I  have  gone  into  some  detail  on  the  Latinity  of  Jordan 
because  Boehmer  finds  in  these  "Italianisms"  the  main 
proof  for  the  authenticity  of  the  letters  on  the  Tartar  in- 
vasions. Thus  he  says  on  j).  LXII  of  his  Introd. :  ''Ce  qui 
est  favorable  a  cette  hypothese,  c'est  que  I'auteur  des 
lettres  etait  selon  toute  apparence  un  Italien:  (1)  II  com- 
l)are  I'etendue  des  deux  custodies   devastees  par  les  Mon- 


Chronica  Fratris  Jonhnii  A  Giauo  43 

gols  a  cello  de  la  Tosciane  et  de  la  Lombardie;  (2)  II 
emploie  ime  fois  le  partitif  italien:  "due  custodie  de  frat- 
ribiis  iiostris."  The  latter  fact,  as  we  have  seen,  does  not 
prove  anytliing,  the  "partitif"  witli  "de"  is  common  to 
all  Romance  languages  and  Jordan  plainly  uses  it  here  as 
a  variation  in  style  since  he  says :  "Noveritis  etiam  quod 
jam  5  con\entus  Predicatoriim  et  due  custodie  de  fra- 
tribus  nostris  sunt  penitus  destructe."  More  weighty 
is  the  comparison  of  the  extent  of  the  devastated  terri- 
tory with  the  Italian  lands  of  Tuscany  and  Lonibardy. 
It  is  certainly  remarkable  that  a  man  who  had  spent  the 
greater  part  of  his  life  in  Germany  should  make  for  Italy 
in  order  to  find  a  comparison.  But  we  must  remember 
that  this  particular  letter  is  addressed  to  "Karissimis 
Cliristi  fidelibus  uuiversis  ad  quod  presens  scriptum 
pervenerit,"  and  Jordan  may  well  have  inserted  the 
names  of  districts  well  known  to  every  Christian  in 
Europe  rather  than  some  less  famous  namies. 

Boehmer  adds:  "II  faut  aussi  prendre  en  considera- 
tion le  latin  tout  a  fait  rustique  des  deux  lettres."  Rus- 
ticity, if  Jordan  is  really  to  be  accused  of  it — which  I  deny 
— is  a  very  common  complaint  among  medieval  chron- 
iclers, and  is  a  rather  weak  criterion  by  which  to  decide 
the  provenience  of  a. document  of  those  times.  But  we 
have  another  and  quite  unmistakable  touchstone  for 
Jordan's  authorship. 

As  I  read  his  chronicle  the  conviction  grew  on  me  that 
the  outstanding  feature  of  his  style  is  an  excessive,  or  at 
least  quite  disproportionate  use  of  ablatives  absolute  and 
other  participial  constructions.  It  cannot  be  accidental 
that  one  may  easily  count  some  500  such  constructions  in 
the  by  no  means  lengthy  document.  Now  the  same  prom- 
inence is  given  to  these  constructions  in  the  three  letters, 
the  iirst  one  (in  Boehmer 's  edition)  exhibiting  some  nine- 
teen; the  second,  twenty -tive,  and  the  one  omitted  from 
B's  edition,  ten.  Besides,  as  Fr.  Bihl  has  justly  said, 
in  the  review  of  that  edition,  Arch.  Franc.  Hist.,  p.  649, 


44  Chronicd  Ftdtris  Jordani  A  Giano 

the   three  letters   are   intimately   coiiiiected   in   contents 
and  object. 

And,  if  really  ''the  style  is  the  man,"  it  is  one  not  nn- 
worthy  of  our  friend.  He  may  not  have  had,  as  Boeh- 
mer  claims,  ''pas  regu  de  culture  superieure,"  but  he  knew 
how  to  say  what  he  had  to  say,  tersely,  vividly  and  inter- 
estingly. He  is  preeminently  a  man  of  action,  a  keen  ob- 
server ;  in  spite,  or  perhaps  on  account  of  his  truly  Fran- 
ciscan simplicity,  a  shrewd  diplomat,  always  full  of  ex- 
pedients and  never  losing  his  presence  of  mind.  That 
he  was  a  good  organizer  and  efficient  administrator  was 
well  known  to  his  sui)eriors,  who  entrusted  tlie  most  im- 
portant duties  to  him.  These  duties  he  performed  well 
and  he  is  richly  entitled  to  the  one  reference  he  makes  to 
his  own  merits,  if,  indeed,  he  intended  to  make  one :  ' '  And 
this  is  your  brother  Jordan,  who  is  writing  this  for  you, 
who  in  such  wise  came  to  Germany,  who  escaped  the 
furor  Theutonicus  which  he  dreaded  so  mucli  and  who, 
together  with  Brother  Caesarius  and  the  other  friars,  first 
planted  the  Order  of  Minors  in  Germany."  (Chap.  18.) 


THE  LATIN  TEXT  OF  THE  PRESENT  EDITION. 

In  preparing  the  text  of  the  present  edition  my  steady 
aim  has  naturally  been  to  present  as  faithfully  as  ])os- 
sible  the  original  text  of  Jordan.  How  arduous  a  task 
this  is,  easily  appears  from  a  study  of  tlie  condition  of 
the  only  remaining  MSS.  Neither  of  the  two  fragments, 
(B)  and  (K),  exhibits  an  autograph  of  Brother  Baldwin, 
of  Brandenburg,  or  even  a  good  copy  of  the  same. 

I  was  confronted,  however,  by  other  difficulties.  All  my 
efforts  to  obtain  photographic  reproductions  of  the  two 
codices  failed  on  account  of  the  chaos  introduced  into 
postal  communication  by  the  present  war.  I  had,  there- 
fore, to  depend  on  the  critical  apparatus  of  Boeh- 
mer's  model  edition.  His  text  has  been,  throughout,  the 
standard  along  which  the  present  text  was  revised  and, 
at  least  as  far  as  good  intention  counts,  improved  upon. 
I  thought  myself  justified  in  placing  absolute  trust  on 
Boehmer's  annotations,  a  reliance  well  founded  on  his 
superb  scholarship  and  painstaking  research,  of  which 
Van  Ortroy  says  {Anal  Bolland.,  T.  28,  pp.  335-337) : 
"Desormais  on  ne  pourra  plus  citer  I'oeuvre  de  Jourdain 
que  d'apres  le  texte  fixe  par  le  travail  patient  et  sagace 
de  M.  Boehmer.  Son  edition  est  conforme  a  toutes  les 
exigences  modernes.  On  pourra,  peut-etre,  la  perfecti- 
onner  par  quelque  decouvert  heureuse;  mais  je  donto 
fort  qu'il  resulte  une  modification  notable." 

I  cannot  claim  to  have  made  such  a  "decouvert 
heureuse;"  yet  my  high  respect  for  the  distinguished 
editor  has  not  led  me  to  follow  him  blindly.  Every  avail- 
able means  of  verifying  or  correcting  his  numerous  emen- 
dations, corrections,  insertions  has  been  conscientiously 
employed.  The  previous  editions  of  Voigt  and  the  An- 
alec.ta  Franciscan  a  have  been  carefully  and  painstakingly 
collated  with  Boehmer's  text.  Every  word  has  been 
studied  and  weighed  and  the  references  to  Glassberger's 
Chronicle  and — -as  far  as  possible — to  Komerowski  have 
been  traced  and  verified,  and,  if  necessary,  corrected. 

45 


46  Chronica  Fratris  Jordani  A  Giano 

I  am  well  aware  tliat  only  the  inspection  of  the  MSS. 
or  their  photographs  would  have  fully  authorized  me  to 
make  some  of  my  conjectures  and  changes,  nevertheless 
I  have  not  hesitated  to  incorporate  them  in  the  text 
wherever  and  whenever  its  present  condition  seemed  to 
demand  it.  What  with  the  labors  of  ^^oigt,  the  Quaracchi 
editors  and  Dr.  Boehmer,  it  seems  almost  impossible  that 
any  important  feature  or  peculiarity  of  the  codices  should 
have  escaped  discovery  or  mention  in  their  critical  ap- 
paratus. The  latter,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  exhibits 
the  MSS.  themselves. 

A  full  account  of  all  the  most  important  variants  and 
readings  both  of  the  Codex  (B)  and  (K)  as  well  as  of 
the  editions  by  Voigt,  the  Analecta  and  of  the  edition  of 
the  Codex  (K)  by  Fr.  Leonard  Lemmens  in  the  Archivum 
Franciscanum  Hlsturicum,  Vol.  3  (1910),  is  given  in  my 
critical  apparatus.  Mere  errors  of  the  copyists  and  such 
points  as  have  been  definitely  settled  by  the  previous  edi- 
tors have  been  omitted.  Considering,  however,  the  im- 
possibility of  basing  my  conjectures  on  personal  investi- 
gation of  the  MSS.,  I  feel  that  some  of  the  changes  intro- 
duced into  the  present  text  stand  in  nee'd  of  a  more  ex- 
plicit justification  than  can  be  given  in  the  necessarily 
brief  notes  of  the  apparatus. 

Every  editor  has  been  puzzled  by  the  conclusion  of  the 
second  sentence  of  the  Prologue  (p.  1,  1.17,  Ed.  Bo.). 
Vo.  and  An.  tell  us  that  codex  (B)  here  gives  evidence  of 
several  corruptions  in  the  text.  Neither  the  one  nor  the 
other  tried  to  submit  a  satisfactory  conclusion.  An.  tell 
us  simply :  "nil  conjectando  immutavimus. ' '  Bo.  inserts 
the  words:  "desiderio  (fratrum  statui)  satisfacere," 
adding  in  the  apparatus:  "quaedam  in  (B)  hie  excidisse 
patet."  I  have  ventured  to  read:  desidero  satisfacere. 
This  is  not  at  all  unlike  the  Latinity  of  Jordan  and  saves 
him  from  the  rather  awkward  repetition  of  the  phrase 
used  but  a  few  lines  before:  "fratrum  devoto  desiderio 
statui  annuere." 


Chronica  Frafris  Joidiui'i  A   Giauo  47 

On  Chapter  5,  p.  ."),  1.1  {VA.  Bo.),  Boeluiicr  icniaiks, 
Api)aratus,  note  e:  "ex  i)lnrali :  "  niissi  sunt  nomen  unius 
fratris  excidisse  snspicor,"  and  hence  lie  indicates  a 
lacuna  in  the  text.  I  cannot  agree  with  him  on  this  point. 
The  ])liiral  number  seems  to  me  sufficiently  exphrnicd  by 
the  words  following:  "cum  fratribus  60  vel  pluriluis." 
I  have,  therefore,  omitted  the  indication  of  a  lacuna. 
On  pages  5-6  of  the  same  chapter  Boehmer  introduces 
the  phrase:  "  quid  am  ex  ipsis  plagati"  taken,  without  in- 
dication, from  the  '"Breve  Memoriale." 

.Vnotlier  quite  unsatisfactory  reading  occurs  in  the 
same  chapter,  p.  6,  1.2:  "et  quiclam  denudati  ad  clKJicaiii 
sunt  ducti."  Voigt,  in  the  first  edition,  says:  "Icli 
wiisste  das  Wort,  das  liier  otfenbar  den  Scliandpfahl  be- 
deutet  sonst  nicht  nachzuweisen,"  to  which  Boehmer  re- 
plies (p.  6,  note  1) :  "Mais  choreo  ne  signitie  jamais  pilori. 
S'il  y  avait  dans  le  texte  chorda  au  lieu  de  chorea  on 
pourrait  admettre  que  les  freres  subire  la  peine  de  la 
chorda  c'est  a  dire  qu'ils  auraient  ete  bernes.  V.  Ducange 
a  ce  mot  et  J.  Grimm,  Eechtsaltertiimer,  -4  ed.,  T.  II, 
p.  324.  Mais  chorea  parait  bien  etabli.  II  faut  sans 
doute  songer  a  une  forme  particuliere  de  ce  qu  'on  appelaii 
la  processio  done  a  une  peine  d'honneur.  C'est  en  tout 
cas  ce  qui  indiquerai  la  denudatio  du  frere.^ 

I  do  not  know  what  to  do  with:  ad  choream  sunt  ducti. 
It  defies  translation.-    "They  were   led  to  the  dance" 


IV.  Grimm,  1.  c.  II,  p.  305s. 

2There  is  indeed  a  passage  in  Salimbene,  Bd.  Holder-Egger,  M.G.S., 
T.  XXXII,  p.  628,  1.  28-36,  "Nam  in  precedentibus  annis  ab  isto  mil- 
lesimo  quidam  molendinarii  de  Regio  cum  quadam  calliditate  et 
mallcia  petierunt  et  obtinuerunt  a  fratribus  Minoribus  aliquas  tunicas 
habituales  et  veteres.  quas  dicebant  se  velle  ponere  sub  labore  et 
instrumento  fuUonis,  ut  Inde  meliores  efficerentur;  cavi  qiiibiis  postea 
tfmpore  carnisprivii  in  habitu  fratrum  Minorum  aclvesperascente  jam 
die  in  strata  publica  rhoreiqando  cantabant.  Et  banc  stultitiam 
faciebant  instigante  diabolo  qui  volebat,  quod  'ponerent  maculam  in 
electis'  (Eccli.  11,  33),  ut  fratres  Minores  a  transeuntibus  crederentur 
qui  talia  faciebant,  et  sic  ordini  in  scandalum  et  in  dedecus  redunda- 
ret."  But  the  passage  in  Jordan  describes  a  different  scene.  No  matter 
how  one  tries  to  explain  ad  choream.  it  makes  no  sense  and  eludes  any 
reasonable  translation. 


48  Chronica  Fratris  Jordani  A  Giano 

seems  impossible.  I,  therefore,  venture  to  substitute 
''ad  (■lioram,"  preferring  a  conjecture  to  an  absurdity. 
About  this  word  we  find  the  following  in  Ducange: 
"Chora,  Connnunia,  Commune  Juratorum  in  urbibus  a 
quibus  mium  lites  judioantur:  vox  formata,  ut  videtur  a 
Ctiria:  unde  Choremanni  (jui  olim  Curiales.  Consuetu- 
dines  villae  Arkarmn  an,  1231,  in  Tabul.  S.  Bertini: 
Hominibus  nostris  de  Arkes  legem  jui'atam  quae  chora 
vulgariter  appellatur  dedimus  et  concessimus  in  hunc 
modum,  etc.  Infra:  Jurare  debent  etiam  omnes  in  villa 
manentes  Choram  et  legem  villae. ' ' 

If  this  is  the  correct  reading,  then  the  "Friars  were 
brought  to  the  local  tril)unal,"  which  is  in  perfect  accord 
with  the  passage  in  question.  It  is  very  probable  that  the 
15th  century  copyist,  ignorant  of  the  meaning  of  the  word 
"chora/'  substituted  the  more  familiar  "chorea." 

In  Chap.  6,  p.  6,  1.21,  we  are  told  that  unas  ex  iisdem 
(ratribus  XV,  vicibus  ipse  sic  hraccas  amiserat.  Voigt, 
Analecta  and  Boehmer,  all  refer  here  to  Chap.  18  where 
the  number  is  reduced  to  VI  vicibus.  An.  say:  "Infra 
Chap.  18,  liabetur  VI,  sed  apparet  in  codice  ibi  aliquid 
esse  erasum,"  and  Bo.,  substituting  XV  from  Glassberger 
tells  us,  App.  a.,  "VII  B.  radendo,  ut  videtur  correxit : 
\'I."  Even  Komerowski  seems  to  have  been  staggered 
by  "XV  vicibus"  and  saves  himself  by  compromising  on 
"multis"  vicibus.  In  spite  of  Boehmer  and  Wadding, 
who  has  cpiindecies,  I  have  adopted  VI  vicibus,  which  is 
still  a  sufficiently  large  number  to  satisfy  anyone. 

In  Chap.  7,  p.  7, 1.  8,  both  Voigt  and  Boelimer  substitute : 
■ut  f rater  Helias  for  the  reading  of  (B)  et  f rater,  etc. 
But  the  Analecta  justly  remarks  (p.  3,  note  6,  Ed.  I),  non 
bene  posuit  ut  pro  et.  It  is  true  that  with  the  substitution 
of  ^^t  the  historical  uncertainty  of  the  mission  of  Brother 
Elias  to  the  Orient  vanishes  immediately,  but  on  this  very 
account  I  dare  not  adopt  the  reading.  Jordan's  doubt 
about  the  two  missions  of  1217  and  1219  seems  to  extend 
to  the  sending  of  Brother  Elias  also.     The  apparently 


(lironicd  Fidfrls  Jordnui  A   (innio  4'J 

iDiiocont  substitution  of  ut  for  et  is  of  too  far-reacliiiiu: 
conscHiuenees  to  be  lightly  adopted.  Moreover,  the  doubt 
of  Jordan  seems  to  touch  not  only  the  time  but  also  the 
destination  of  the  brotliers.  I  liave,  therefore,  followed 
the  Aualecta. 

In  Chap.  16,  p.  IG,  1.9,  Boehmer  takes  Glassberger's 
version  and  reads:  "Dominus  Keynerius  dyaconus 
cardinalis  cum  pluribus  aliis  episcopis  et  religiosis" 
against  B.  and  An.,  who  read:  "cum  pluribus  episcopis 
et  aliis  religiosis."  Eainerius  Capocci  is  expressly  calleil 
a  Cardmal-Deacou  and  hence  it  seems  preferable  to  me  to 
retain  the  text  of  the  codex  and  of  the  Analecta,  altliough 
Capocci  was  Bishop  of  ^"iterbo,  but  only  from  124:3-1244. 
(Moroni,  8,  62;  G^ams,  Ser.  Episc,  p.  737.) 

Quite  a  difference  of  opinion  has  arisen  about  the  cor- 
rect reading  of  Chap.  17,  p.  18,  1.10.  A^oigt  lias:  larr/is 
cereis,  and  calls  Wadding's  reading:  ocreis  meaningless. 
For  this  he  is  taken  to  task  by  the  Analecta,  who  prefer 
Wadding's  reading.  Boehmer  again  introduces  cereis, 
which  causes  the  following  stricture  by  Fr.  Bihl,  Arch. 
Franc.  Hist.,  Vol.  2  (1909),  p.  650:  minus  probatur — quod 
cereis  non  mutaverit  in  ocreis  quod  adjectivo  largis  certe 
melius  correspondet ;  ...  I  side,  however,  with  Boeh- 
mer. Cereis  is  evidently  the  reading  of  the  codex.  The 
passage  from  Komerowski,  Breve  Mernoriale,  quoted  by 
Boehmer,  also  confirms  this  reading:  largis  elemosinis 
sanctorum  limina  visitant.  Candles  as  votive  offerings 
are  quite  common  from  the  earliest  ages  of  the  church 
down  to  the.  present  time.  The  Catholic  Encyclopedia, 
Art.  "Candles"  tells  us  of  the  "pillars  of  wax"  men- 
tioned by  Eusebius,  Vita  Constantini,  IV,  XXII.  Can- 
dles were  and  are  commonly  used  to  burn  before  shrines 
towards  which  the  faithful  wish  to  show  special  devo- 
tion. A  curious  medieval  practice  was  that  of  offering 
at  any  favored  shrine  a  candle  or  a  number  of  candles 
equalling  in  measurement  the  height  of  the  person  for 
whom  some  favor  was  asked.    The  practice  can  be  traced 


50  Chronica  F rati  is  Jordani  A   Giano 

back  to  the  time  of  St.  Kadegund  (f  5<S7),  and  later  right 
through  the  Middle  Ages."  (Vol  III,  p.  247).  Hence 
the  reading  cereis  seems  to  me  eminently  in  keeping  with 
the  whole  passage  (also  with  tlie  adjective  largis)  for 
Bro.  Elias  in  his  speech  manifestly  intends  to  accentuate 
the  devotion  of  the  German  pilgrims,  not  some  peculiarity 
of  dress  of  accoutrement.  1  liave,  therefore,  followed 
Boehmer  and  adopted  cereis. 

In  Chap.  27,  p.  30,  1.  13,  Boehmer  substitutes  "theu- 
tonice"  (from  GrLassberger)  for  the  reading  of  (B), 
Voigt  and  Analecta:  quotidie  (cottidie),  and  lie  adds  in 
the  apparatus,  note  f.,  "quod  melius  ad  sententiani  (lua- 
drat."  I  fail  to  see  how  this  tallies  more  satisfactorily 
with  the  thouglit  of  tlie  sentence.  Tlie  "Theutonici"  ex- 
pressly answer  to  the  begging  of  the  brethren:  Nos 
Latinum  non  intelligimus ;  and  this  in  response  to  the 
brother  who  "cepit  Latina  Ihvgua  mendicare, — ^why  then 
should  he  have  attempted  to  replace  the  brother  who 
" theutonice"  mendicabat?  The  meaning  is:  that  the  of- 
ficious brother  came  to  th.e  assistance  of  the  one  to  whom 
the  office  of  alms-gathering  had  been  assigned  for  that 
day.  Surely  he  did  not  expect  better  success  from  beg- 
ging in  Latin  than  Ihe  brother  who  "theutonice"  mendi- 
cabat !  Yet  this  would  follow  if  the  reading  "theutonice" 
is  adopted.    I  have,  therefore,  restored :  quotidie. 

In  the  same  chapter  (B),  Voigt  and  Analecta  have 
"nicht  iudisch."  Boehmer  amends  this  into  ''Nicht 
Diudisch."  But  Jordan  tells  us  that  the  brother  pro- 
nounced these  words  '"corrupte,"  and  the  spelling  " nicht 
iudisch"  is  evidently  liis  attemi)t  to  reproduce  this  de- 
fective pronunciation.  It  is  better  then  to  follow  the 
first  editions,  thcJugh  tlie  Analecta  go  too  far  in  explain- 
ing it  as  "non  judaice."  The  resemblance  is  purely 
accidental. 

The  addition  in  ('ha]).  51,  p.  46,  1.9-14,  taken  by  Boeh- 
mer from  Glassberger,  is  so  unmistakably  in  the  style  of 
Jordan  that  I  have  incorporated  it  into  the  text.  The 
writer  of  codex  (B)  was  betrayed  by  the  word  capitulo, 


Chronica  Frnfris  Jordani  A  Giano  51 

the  last  word  in  p.  148  of  tlie  MS.;  he  skipped  the  entire 
passage  preserved  in  Glassberger,  which  again  closes 
with  the  word  capitiilo,  and  continued:  f rater  Johannes 
Parens.  This  explanation  of  Dr.  Boehnier  is  absolntely 
convincing. 

Two  emendations  are  introduced  into  the  text  of  Chap. 
b^,  p.  -^S,  1.1.7,  which  are  justly  repudiated  by  Fr.  Bihl  in 
Arch.  Franc.  Hist.,  Vol.  II,  }).  650.  The  reading,  accord- 
ing to  (B)  and  the  Analecta  is:  liomines  tunc  teinporis 
propter  ordinis  novitatem  et  e(|uiti8  humilitatem,  ex- 
eniplo  Christi  potius  asinantis  (piam  ecpiitantis,  move- 
bantur  quam  nunc  propter  assiduum  fratrum  usum  ad 
personas  ministrorum.  Of  this  Boehmer  makes :  propter 
assiduum  fratrum  abusum  equitandi!  True,  he  follows 
in  this  Glassberger,  the  Chronica  Anonyma,  and,  we  might 
add.  Wadding,  who,  as  Voigt  already  noted,  also  has 
propter  ab  usum  equitandi.  But  this  merely  proves  that 
Glassberger,  etc.,  misunderstood  the  passage  altogether. 
Jordan  is  far  from  implying  any  such  abuse  of  the  priv- 
ilege of  riding  horseback  on  the  part  of  the  ministers  of 
his  time.  The  chroniclers  of  later  date,  mentioned  here, 
simply  read  conditions  of  their  own  time  into  the  inno- 
cent words  of  our  author.  Fr.  Bihl  justly  and  quaintly 
remarks :  ' '  vox  usus  certe  sufficiebat  neque  vox  equitandi 
plane  mucronem  attingit  quia  vertitur  comparatio  inter 
asimiui  Fr.  Johannis  de  Piano  Carpinis  et  personas  min- 
istrorum !"  I  have,  therefore,  restored  the  reading  of  the 
codex  and  of  Ihe  two  editions  preceding  Boehmer 's. 

These  remarks,  I  trust,  will  sufficiently  justify  my  de- 
jjartures  from  the  text  of  Boehmer,  or,  at  least,  serve  in 
extenuation  of  my  temerity  in  making  them. 

The  various  additions  to  the  Chronica  Jordani  given 
in  Boehmer 's  edition  will  be  relegated  to  an  appendix. 
The  so-called  Continuatio  Saxonica,  in  Lemmens  's  edition 
Continuatio  I,  up  to  1295  may  well  be  from  the  pen  of 
Fr.  Baldwin  of  Brandenburg.  Witli  the  first  three  chap- 
ters the  style  of  the  Continuatio  abruptly  changes  and 
degenerates  into  a  mere  enumeration  of  Ministers-Pro- 


5:2  Chronica  F)<itri.s  Joirlanl  A  Giano 

vincial  and  their  toiiiire  of  office.  Tjittle  of  importance  or 
interest  is  contained  therein.  But  for  the  benefit  of  the 
student  it  has  been  deemed  advisable  to  append  them. 
They  bring  the  history  of  the  "Saxonia,"  at  h»ast  in  bare 
outlines,  up  to  the  year  1485.  Tlie  "Fragmenta  Benoso- 
wiensia"  are  entirely  eliminated  from  this  edition.  Fr. 
Bihl,  Arch.  Franc.  Hist.,  Vol.  II,  has  successfully  refuted 
tli(^  theory  of  Boehmer  that  such  a  work  ever  existed. 
Their  contents,  moreover,  are  quite  extraneous  to  the 
matter  of  the  Chronica  Jordani. 

The  second  appendix  brings  the  two  letters  of  Jordan 
quoted  in  Boehmer,  pp.  72-75.  To  these  I  have  added  a 
third  letter,  taken  from  the  same  soun-e,  Tlie  Chronica 
Majora  of  Mathew  of  Paris,  M.G.S.,  T.  XXN'III.  In  this 
I  have  followed  the  arguments  of  Fr.  Bihl,  I.e.  Tlie  ob- 
jection to  its  provenance  from  Jordan  made  by  Boehmer: 
*'Les  auteurs  de  le  troisieme  doivent  etre  cherches  en  Al- 
lemagne  et  plus  exactment  en  Saxe.  Or  comme  le  Frater 
Jordcimis  se  trouvait  d'apres  la  seconde  lettre,  a  cette 
meme  epoque  en  Boheme,  on  ne  saurait  1 'identifier  avee 
le  frere  I.  de  la  troisieme,"  is  well  answered  by  Bihl,  1.  c, 
"Quod  Boehmer  Jordani  Janensi  tribuat  duas  litteras 
de  Tartaris,  72-5  non  vero  tertiam  eodem  loco,  scil.  MG. 
SS.  XXVIII,  207  s.,  editam  et  inscriptam  Fr.  R.  dc  ordine 
Praedicatoruni  cf  Fr.  liordanus),  de  Ordine  Minorum, 
valde  miramur.  Quia  auctores  tertiae  e])istolae  (quae 
non  secus  ac  secunda  est  sine  loco  et  nota  temporis),  non 
magis  in.  Saxonia  quaerendi  sunt,  uti  vult  Boehmer  LXII, 
quam  in  Bohemia  vel  Moravia.  Fuerant  utique  in  Sax- 
onia, antequam  litteras  has  scripserunt,  cum  dicant,  L.  C 
XXVIII,  207s. :  Narraverunt  nobis  ])rofugi  de  terra  ilia 
in  Saxonia  praecipue.  .  .  .  Deinde  de  invasionibus  Tar- 
tarorum  lamentantur  atque  de  Polonia,  Moravia,  Hun- 
garia  depopulatis  lugent.  Jordanus  vero  e  Saxonia  utique 
venerat !  Praeterea  tertia  ilia  epistola  argumento  suo 
cum  duabus  aliis  intime  colligatur." 


CJiroHicd  F nit  I  Is  Joidcnii  J    (HiUKj  v)'.\ 

These  arg-iimeiits  seem  to  me  (luite  eouvincin,^-  and  liave 
induced  me  to  enter  the  third  letter  into  this  edition.  These 
letters  furnish  the  only  light  on  the  im]K)rtant,  though  as 
yet  quite  obscure,  ('liai)ter  in  the  life  of  our  author. 

The  editions  of  Yo'i^i  and  P>()ehmer  are  to  all  intents 
and  i)uri)oses  ''codices  impressi"  and  retain  all  the  idio- 
syncrasies and  peculiarities  of  spelling  found  in  the  manu- 
scripts. I  have  eliminated  them  from  the  present  text 
and  adopted  the  modern  way  of  spelling  Latin.  Names 
of  cities  and  of  persons  liave  been  given  in  their  modern 
forms  with  the  exception  of  tliose  names  whose  Latin 
eciuivalent  is  well  known  and  generally  accepted.  Only 
thus  could  I  hope  to  fulfill  my  intention  of  7naking  tlie 
present  edition  useful  to  the  general  reader. 


APPARATUS  CRITICUS. 

Exemplar  liiijus  novae  editionis  "Chronica  Fratris  Jordan!  a 
Giano"  est  editio  Henrici  Boehmer  in  "Collection  d'Etiides  et  de 
Documents  sur  I'Histoire  Religieuse  et  Litteraire  du  Moyen  Age. 
Vol.  VI,  Paris,  Lihrarie  Fischbacher,  1908. 

Abbreviationes: 

B.  =  Codex  Berolinensis,  Bibliothecae  Regalis,  Theol.  Lat.  196. 
K.  =  Codex  Karlsruhensis,  Landesbil)lif)thek,  857. 

Vo.  =  Editio  Georgii  Voigt,  in  "Abhandlungen  der  Konigl.     Sach- 

sischen   Gesellschaft  der  Wissenschaften,"  Bd.  5,  Leipzig, 

S.  Hirzel,  1885. 
An.  =  Editio    "Analecta    Franciscana,"  T.   1,  Ad   C'laras  Aquas 

(Quaracchi),  Collegium  S.  Bonaventurae,  1885. 
Bo.  =  Editio  Boehmer,  supra  citata. 
Le.  =  Editio  Codicis  Karlsruhensis,  P.  Leonardi  Lemmens,  O.F.M., 

in    "Archivum    Franciscanum    Historicum,"    Ad    Claras 

Aquas,  Coll.  S.  Bonav.,  T.  II,  1910. 
Gl.  =  Chronica  Fratris  Nicolai  Glassberger,  O.F.M.,  In 'Analecta 

Franciscana,"  T.  II,  Quaracchi,  Coll.  S.  Bonav.,  1887. 
Ko.  =  Tractatus  Cronice,  et:  Breve    Memoriale    Joannis    Kome- 

rowski,  O.F.M. 

C.  =  Caput;  P.  =Pagina;  l.=Linea;  quae  abbreviationes  ordinem 

editionis  exemplaris  Bo.  ostendunt. 

Prologus,  P.  1,  1.1:  An:  aliquoties. — 1.4,  An:  mulioties. — 1.9,  An: 
idulolatriae. — 1.14,  Vo:  post — ;  An:  post — ,  addunt  in  calce:  in 
codice  est  lacuna;  Bo.,  secutus  B.,  nullam  allegat  lacunani. — 
1.15,  B:  celebrato;  Vo:  celebrato  {sic);  An:  celebrato  (sic);  Bo: 
corr.  celehralum. — 1.17,  Vo:  dcsiderio  satisfacere;  An:  idem; 
Bo:  corr.  desiderio  (fratrum  statui)  satisfacere;  addito,  in 
apparatu:  quaedam  in  B.  hie  excidisse  patet;  Ego  conjeci: 
desidero  satisfacere,  quod  Latinitati  Jordani  baud  absonum 
est. 

P.  2,  1.1,  Vo:  et  ipse  velim,  uni  autem  (absque  puncto  periodi); 
An:  velim,  sin  (absque  puncto  periodi);  Bo:  puncto  periodi 
concludit  sententiam,  continuat:  Sin. — 1.2,  Vo:  nnus  sapiens; 
An:  tninns;  Bo:  minus,  addens  in  apparatu:  B:  unus;  Ed.  2. 
conjecit  minus,  cf.  2.  Cor.  11,  23. — 1.5,  Vo:  errans;  An: 
erravi. — 1.9,  Vo:  sufficit  wa???;  An:  ?iam. — 1.10,  \ o :  politis,  sed 
suggerit:  peritis,  idem  An. — 1.18,  Vo:  confinxerunt ;  An:  con- 
finxerunt;  Bo.  ex  B.:  confinxerint. 
54 


Chronica  Frafris  JonUuii  A   Giano  55 

C.  1,  P.  3,  1.4,  Vo:  omittit  eju.^. 

C.  2,  P.  3,  1.7,  Bo:  evangelio  que:  ^'<».  ft  An:  (luod. 

C.  2.  P.  3,  1.0,  An:  calceanienti.s. 

C  4,  P.  4,  1.4,  Po.  ex  Ko.  uddit:  (|iu)d  (.sic). — 1.5,  An:  quid  esftef. — 
1.(5,  Vo:  quia  heretici;  sed  ipse  jam  su.spicatu.s  est  (/?/a.v/,  quain 
emendationem  An.,  Bo.,  ego  adoptamus. — 1.7,  Bo.  addit  ex 
Ko:  magistri  (Parisienses). — 1.11,  Bo:  addit  .sede  {apostolica) 
exKo. — 1.11,  Bo:  exKo:  (ro»)firmatam. — l.ll,Vo:  spirUuales 
filios. 

C.  5,  P.  5,  1.1,  Bo.  in  nota  c.,  apparatus  critici  suggerit  ex  Gl.  et 
Ko.  fraier,  et  post  fraire.s  suspicatur  lacunam.  Sed  vide  Intro- 
diietionem,  4. — 1.11,  Bo:  addit:  quidam  ex  ip^Ls  plagati,  quani 
additionem  nee  Vo.  nee  An.  habent.  Sumpsit  Bo.  hancaddi- 
tionem  ex  Breve  Memoriale,  sed  uncis  non  inclusit. — P.  6, 
1.2,  Vo.  Bo:  Judecre;  An:  ludicre,  quod  substitui. 

C.  6,  P.  6, 1.10,  B :  d^isi  =  derisi  (Bo.) ;  Vo.  et  An :  derisi;  Ko :  dimisfii; 
Gl:  divisi  quam  lectionem  cum  Bo.  adoptavi  quia. derisi  mani- 
feste  contradicit  verbis  mox  sequentibus  sub  silentio  (1.11  et 
12) — 1.13,  B:  mactarentur;\o:  traciarenfur;  Ko icaederentur. — 
1.21,  adoptavi:  VI  vicibus  ex  lectione  B.,  C.  18. — P.  7,  1.4, 
B :  et  hiis  aliis;  Vo :  Et  hiis  aliis;  An :  FA  hi  aliis;  Ko :  et  sic 
continue  his;  Bo:  His  et  aliis  quam  emendationem  adoptavi. 

C.  7,  P.  7, 1.8,  B:  praecedenti,  et;  An:  et;  Vo.  et  Bo:  substituunt  ut; 
sed  vide  Introd. 

C.  9,  P.  8,  1.2  et  3,  Bo:  ex  Gl:  Caesarius  (conversus),  similiter  Ko. 

C.  11,  P.  9,  1-18,  B:  domino  legum;  Vo:  divinarum  legum; — P.  11, 
1.10,  Bo:  sed  (tantum)  ex  Ko. 

C.  12,  P.  11,  1.18,  Bo.,  in  apparatu,  i,  notat  ad  ricarionnn:  add. 
Gl.  contra  Vo.  et  An.  qui  hoc  verbum  in  B.  legisse  videntur. — 
P.  12,  1.10,  Bo.,  An.,  Gl:  Ha;  Vo:  ita.—V.  12,  1.  14-16,  Bo. 
addit  ex  Gl:  {et  e  regione  ille  patri  suo  spiriiuali  se  hnmiliando 
eundem  reverentiae  ciiltum  eidem  impend ehat),  sed  perperam. 

C.  13,  P.  12,  1.22-23,  Vo.  in  apparatu:  Hier  fehlen  offenbar  einige 
Worte;  An:  aliqua  verba  excidisse  videntur;  Bo.  in  apparatu: 
B.  hoc  loco  unam  lineam  excidisse  patet.  Supplevi  cum  Bo. 
ex  Gl:     {Hec  dixit  fratribus  qui  cum  sancto  Francisco  erant.) 

C.  14,  P.  14,  1.8,  Bo:  facto  ei  reverentia;  videtur  esse  menda  typo- 
graphica.— P.  14,  1.11,  Bo.  ex  Gl.  et  Ko.  addit:  magnus  (domi- 
nus). — 1.17,  Vo:  Ad  que. 


56  Chronica  Fratris  Jordani  A  Giano 

C.  15,  P.  15,  l.-i,  \'o:  furbacionibus-;  An:  liirhafioHihus. — 1.9,  Vo.  ct 
An:  rumoribus  f/?/o.v;  Ho:  que. 

C  1(),  P.  1(),  1.!),  B:  cin)i  pliiribus  episcopis  et  aliis  religosis;  \o. 
et  An:  idem;  Bo:  cum  phtribu.s  aliis  epiacopis  et  religiosis. — 
P.  17,  1.4  0,  \o:  liencdicfii.s  (lotnimi.s  (leufi  nieut)  qui — ,  et  addit, 
perperam,  ad  plene.  (An.,  P.  6,  adnotatio  l.)~l-14,  B:  cii 
pro  tamen.  An.  legerunt  in  eodice  cuvi  et  addunt  fadn.  2, 
P.  G)  "quod  vel  omittendum  est,  vel  a  lihrario  suppositum 
est  pro  verbo  convenientium,  abbreviate  scriptum,  ut  acute 
suspicatus  est  Vo."  Er^o  cum  An.  lego:  convenientium,  loco: 
tamen  quod  Bo.  desumpsit  ex  Gl. — 1.18,  B:  expederent,  Ko.  et 
Gl.  expenderent. 

C.  17,  P.  17,  1.20,  Vo:  cum  jam.— P.  18,  1.3,  Vo.  et  An:  ad  pedes 
Heliae  fratis; — 1.9,  Vo:  sepe;  An:  saepe;  Bo:  spe,  qui  error 
typographicus  esse  videtur. — 1.9,  Bo:  addit  ex  Ko:  {per)  \,eT- 
ram;  Bo:  {per  terram  no.s-tram  cum)  uncis  includit,  nescio 
quare.— 1.10,  An:  ocrei.s  loco  cereis;  Vo:  cereis,  Gl.  et  Wadding: 
ocreis. — 1.12,  B:  post  sanctorum  habet  transeunt  quod  est 
deletum,  (Bo.) — P.  19,  1.3,  addidi  cum  Bo.  ex  Gl:  imartyrii) 
post  desiderio. 

C.  18.  P.  19,  1.11,  Vo.  et  An:  ipsum  pro  ipsorum,  quam  lectionem 
adoptavi. — 1.15,  Bo:  ut  (et)  ex  Gl. — 1.18,  quis  est  deletum  in 
B. — P.  20,  1.24,  B:  flam  pro  sanctain.  (Bo.) — 1.27,  B:  ne  si, 
in  loco  raso.  (Bo.) — 1.31,  Vo.  et  An:  consilia;  Bo.  legit  in  B: 
cunsilio;  Bo.  ex  Gl:  consilium;  secutus  sum  Vo.  et  An. — P.  21, 

1.1,  Bo.  ad  XV  licibus:  ita  recte  Gl;  VII  B.  radendo  ut 
videtur  correxit  VI. 

C.  19,  P.  22,  1.2,  B:  ef  Thoma,  biscr;  Gl:  de  Zelchio  vel  Celano;  Ko: 
de  Ceperano  sive  Zelano;  in  Tractatu  Cronice  ://-a/er  Thomas 
de  Ceperano. — P.  23,  1.1,  B.  et    Gl:  Vvisio; — 1.2,  B:  filii; — 

1.2,  G\:Colozon;  Vo:  Colaron. — 1.5,  B:  Palmero,  sed  vide  P. 
19,  1.22.— 1.5,  B:  Jordane  de  Vano.—P.  24,  1.1,  Bo:  legit 
in  B:  quibus,  et  addit  {dam)  uncis  inclusum.  Sed  An:  quibus- 
dam,  et  dicunt  in  adnotatione  4.  ad  P.  8:  Ed.  I.  "quibus," 
refragante  eodice  et  contextu. — 1.2,  Vo.,  An.,  Gl.,  et  Wadding: 
Solato,  pro  Sosato. — 1.4,  B:  13  {tredecim);  idem  Ko.  Secutus 
sum  Bo.  qui  in  apparatu  critico,  nota  e  dicit:  "Cum  Augustae 
jam  fere  31  fratres  numerentur,  cf.  infra  c.  23,  et  unus  tantum 
laicus  in  itinere  Cesario  nomen  dedisse  dicatur,  Gl.  hoc 
quoque  loco  meliorem  lectionem  exhibere  puto."  Jam 
Voigt  adnotavit:  "Wadding  15."     (P.  572,  adn.  50.) 


C]iro)iic<i  Fidfrls  Jordani  A  Giano  57 

C.  ^20,  P.  24,  1.  18,  (il:  qnindecim  (XV).,  (Bo.) 

C  '■21,  P.  '2.5,  1.1,  Ho.  po.st  coftrocati.s  addit  ex  (11:  (/>(>.s7  her). — 
l..'>-4.  Bo.  supplevil  ex  (il:  {rclicll.s  ihi  (diijuihus  fralrihiis  pro 
populi  e(lifica1ii)ii('  ct  alios)  ({uain  loctionem  adoptavi  cum 
optinie  .stylo  Jordani  ro.spoudoat  et  Bo.,  in  apparatu  critico, 
nota  r,  dicat:  ''lioc  (|uo(|iie  loco  B.  imam  lineam  videtur 
omi.si.sse." — 1.16,  Bo.  ex  (Jl.  sui)|)let  biicccllis  (pduis).--^. 
•26,  1.1,  Bo.  legit  in  B:  milianorum;  \\\.  legenmt :  milliurioruw ; 
ita  \o.  et  An.  Ego  cum  Bo.  ex  (ill:  miliurium,  cpiia  Jordanus 
ipse  1.5  hahet  miliare.  1.5,  An:  milliare. — 1.18,  B:  duos 
dcnariatos;  Vo:  dtios  dcuariaeos;  Bo.  ex  (il:  diuis  dcuariatas 
l)anis;  cf.  Ducange  ad  Verl)um.  Adjectivum  "denariatns" 
vel  "denariacus"  non  exstitisse  videtur. 

C.  2'2,  P.  27,  1.1,  Bo.  ex  (il.  addit  post  domino  (Syl)otone)  sed,  ut 
ipse  admittit,  erronee;  cf.  Bihl,  in  Arch.  Franc.  Hist.  'J\2, 
P.  650.  > 

C.  23,  P.  27,  1.11,  Bo.  addit  ex  Gl:  {in)  ingrcssu.— 1.12,  Vo: 
capitulo  prime;  An  in  adn.  -1,  ad  P.  9:  Ircfio  codicis  ambiyua 
est. — P.  28,  1.2,  Vo:  verbnm  prime. 

C.  24,  P.  28,  1.10,  Bo:  in  hono,  quod  videtur  esse  menda  typo- 
graphica. 

C.  25,  P.  28,  1.12,  Bo:  (//)al)ileni,  quem  secutus  sum.— P.  29.  1.6, 
Vo:  minime  pro  miser icordia. 

C.  26,  P.  29,  1.13,  An:  arcfns. 

C.  27,  P.  30,  1.6,  Bo.  supplet  scriptum  (sit),  sed  superflue  et  nulla 
auctoritate  suffragante. — 1.13,  Bo.  ex  (il:  theutonice  pro 
quotidie,  contra  B.,  Vo.  et  An. — 1.17,  B.,  \'o..  An:  nicht 
iudisch. — 1. 17-18, Vo:  ''nichir'  thentonici  snhandi  '\s-c*o." 
Sed  jam  Voigt  hie  corruptelam  adesse  suspicatus  est. — P. 30 
1.25,  B:  utili  sibi;  idem  Vo.  et  An;  Bo  :  sue.—F.  31,  1.4,  Vo: 
similiter  pro  super,  contra  codicem. — 1.  10.  iterum  similiter 
pro  super. 

C.  32,  P.  33,  1.3,  B:  t'risio  pro  Tervisio. — 1.4,  riri  spiritus  pro 
jurisperitus. 

C.  33,  P.  33,  1.5,  B:  insanus  pro  Pisaniis. 

C.  34,  P.  34,  1.7,  B:  Tichmarus. 

C.  35,  P.  35,  1.7,  Vo:  eleomosinam. — 1.8,  B:  wltihns:   Vo:  voltihus. 

C.  37,  P.  35,  1.19,  Bo.  addit  ex  Gl:  Johannem  [de  Piano  Carpinis 
custodem  Saxoniae)  et  in  apparatu  critico,  nota  o,  "scriba, 
novam  paginam  incipiens,  haec  verba  omisisse  videtur." — 
P.  36,  1.5,  B:  valle,  pro  valde;  Vo:  virtutuinque . 


58  CJironlcd  F rati  is  Jurdanl  A  Giano 

C.  38,  P.  36,  1.8,  B:  Snxoniae,  sed  Bo.  recte  ox  (Jl.  suhstituit 
Theutoniae.  Jam  Voi^t  ad  hiinc  locum:  "Der  Irrtum  ist 
handreiflich". — 1.11,  Bo.  ex  (il:  (id)  in  Thiiringia  etc. — 1.11, 
li:  reciperent,  i>ed  Bo.  ex  (il.  Tccte:  .su.sTipereL  Jam  An:  (p. 
12,  n.  4.)     Cod:  reciperent,  sed  deinde  collocaret. 

C.  39,  P.  36,  1.15,  ex  Gl.  substitui  Erfordiam  pro  B:  Erfordie. — 
1.16,  Bo.  ex  (t1.  addit  (et)  temi)u.s. 

C.  40,  P.  36, 1.21,  Cum  Bo.  ex  (il.  supplevi:  (cinn)  fratre  Jordano. — 
Bo:  Jordane. — 1.27,  B.  et  Vo:  Gernocus.  An.,  ad  locum, 
(p.  13,  n.  2.)  "Ed.  1.  Gertioni.s,  sed  ])otiu.s  legendum  esse  Ger- 
noius  jam  \  oigt  suspicatus  est.  In  codice  plernmque  litferae 
t  et  c  eodem  modo  scribuntur.'' — 1.27,  Cum  Bo:  ex  Gl.  substitui 
Suevus  pro  B.,  Vo.,  An:  Sueviae. — P.  37,  1.1,  B.,  Vo.,  An: 
Jo —  de  Colonia.  Secutus  sum  Bo.  qui  liabet:  Jo(hannes). — 
1.2,  B:  Hildn:  An:  Hilden;  Bo:  Hildenseim. 

C.  41,  P.  37,  1.20,  B:  si  pro  frafri. 

C.  42,  P.  38,  1.1,  B:  fratres  2;  Vo:  fratres  2;  An:  fratres  duo;  Bo:  ex 
Gl.  recte  substituit:  2(5)  annis. — 1.2,  B:   auevis   pro   quevis, 

C.  43,  P.  38, 1.10,  Vo:  habitaverunt. — P.  39,  1.4,  claustra;  An.,  idem. 
— 1.5,  B:  iantiim;  Vo:  famen. 

C.  44,  P.  39,  1.8,  Bo.  ex  Gl:  eodem  (quoque  anno);  An.  et  \o: 
(anno). — 1.20,  (il.  addit:  ef  usque  hodie  ibi  manent. 

C.  45,  P.  40, 1.1,  laid  ex  margine  B. — B:  sunt  missi  (superscriptio.) 
— 1.12,  post  locaii  Gl.  addit:  laid  enim  fratres  sine  assistentia 
fratrum  clericorvm  fructnm  in  populo  minime  facere  possunt. — 
1.18,  Vo:  in  ipsam,  contra  cod.     (An.  P.  14,  n.  2). 

C.  47,  P.  42, 1.4,  Vo:  Ipse  non  est  custos;  sed  recte,  in  adnotatione, 
suggerit  lectionem:  Ipse  est,  est  custos  noster.  (P.  537,  n.  103). 
— 1.9,  An:  Erfordiensem,  vide  postea,  1.16,  Erfordiam. 

C.  48,  P.  42,  1.24,  B:  episcopus  archiepiscopus. — P.  43,  1.8,  cum 
Bo.  supplevi  (quod)  instabat.  (Bo:  cf.  Gl:  synodum  quae 
instabat). — 1.10,  Vo.  et  An:  (mitteretur).  Cum  Bo.  supplevi 
ex  Gl:  (accederent) . — 1.18,  B.,  Vo.,  Bo:  sompnis;  An:  somnis; 
conjeci :  sonunis. 

C.  49,  P.  44,  1.1,  Vo:  supplicaverunt,  ex  Wadding;  An:  idem,  sine 
mentione  fontis;  Ho:  supplicavexunt,  ex  (il. — An: Erfordiensem. 
— 1.14,  Vo.  et  i\n:  .se  in  officiis  otnnibus  insuffidentem.  Jam 
Voigt  ex  Wadding  suggessit:  seque  mod  is  omnibus. — 1.24,  su- 
per ejus. — 1.24-25,  Vo:  obedientiam;  sed  An:  obedietitia  ex  B. 


Chro)iic(i  Fidfris  Jordani  A  Giano  5*) 

C.  50,  P.  45,  1.13,  Vo.  et  An:  demleravit.—lMi,  Vo.  et  An.,  omit- 
tunt  (siipradicta)  quod  cum  Bo.  supplevi  ex  Gl. — 1.'25,  Bo. 
supj)let  ex  Gl.  et  (eoi'). — P.  46, 1.2,  Bo.  supplet  ex  Gl:  ministris 
(et  custodibvs.) 

C.  51,  P.  46,  1.9-14,  Bo.  ex  Gl.  supplet:  In  quo  capitulo  (frater  Xi- 
colaus  a  cusiodia  Sa.ro7iiae  absolidus  vicarius  est  indiivhis  et 
ei  frater  Leonardus  Lomhardus  snccessit.  Sicqve  rebus  or- 
dinatis  frater  Albertiis  cum  fratribus  quos  elegerat  ad  gcnerale 
capituluyn  profectus  est.  In  quo  capitulo),  et  in  apparatu 
critico:  B.  novan  paginam  incipiens  totam  sententiam  omisit, 
voce  capituli  seductus. — 1.15,B:  dnm.  =  dom'mum;  Vo.  om. 
dominum  corruptelam  suspicatus  ut  dicunt  An.  P.  16,  n.  2. 

C.  53,  P.  47,  1.8,  Bo.  supplet  ex  Gl.:  (statim)  indixit.— 1.10-11, 
Bo:  (sed  propter  causam  sequenti  ayuio  fnit  celebratum).  Ad- 
dit  ad  hunc  locum:  (app.  cr.  n.  c.)  "Ita  Gl.,  B.  iterum  unam 
lineam  omisisse  mihi  videtur;"  et  ad  verbum  causam:  "deest 
unum  verbum  uti  vrgentem  ant  necessariam.'"  Retinui  ad- 
ditionem. 

C.  54,  P.  48,  1.4,  B:  demincciata. 

C.  55,  P.  48,  1.14,  B:  voluntatem;  Vo.  ex  Wadding:  novitatem;  An. 
idem,  sine  mentione  fontis;  Bo.  ex  Gl:  novitatem. — 1.17,  Bo: 
(a6)usum  (equitandi)  ex  Gl.  et  Chron.  Anonym.,  sed  erronee, 
ut  videre  est  in  Introd. — 1.19,  Bo.  ex  Gl:  (secundario)  factus. 
— P.  49,  1.2,  B:  post  Lothoringiam  sequitur  recepit  deletum. 

C.  57,  P.  49,  1. 11,  Vo.  et  An:  capitulum  Tkeutonorum. — 1.19,  Vo. 
et  An:  in  eodem  generali  {capitulo). — 1.20,  Vo:  in  duas;  An: 
duas;  Bo:  duos,  quod  errorem  typographicum  arbitror. — 1.22, 
B:  Theutoniam  pro  Saxoniam,  quod  jam  Vo.  et  An.  correx- 
erunt;  Bo.  ex  Gl.  Saxoniam — 1.22,  B:  provincie;  Vo:  idem; 
An:  provinciae;  Bo.  ex  Gl:  provinciis. 

C.  58,  P.  50, 1.4,  Bo.  addit  ex  Gl:  in  Wormatia  {celebratum). — 1.11, 
Bo.  addit  ex  Gl:  {Ottonis)  ministri. — 1.19,  B.,  Vo.,  An:  pro 
lectore  Anglicum. 

C.  59,  P.  51, 1.2,  (omnia  referunt  ad  versionem  Jordani)  K:  ip.n  in. 
— 1.5,  B.,  Vo.  et  An:  venerunt;  Bo.  ex  K.  et  Gl:  convenerunt. 
— 1.15,  ipsis  addit  K. — 1.10,  B:  Jordanus  stupendus;  Cum 
Bo.  ex  K.  et  Gl:  stupidus. — 1.18,  B:  met.— 1.30,  Cum  Bo. 
addo  ex  K:  in  praesenti  {vita).  Wadding  habet  in  praesenti 
came,  ut  jam  notavit  Vo.  (P.  544,  nota  136). 


60  Chronica  Fratris  Jordcmi  A  Giano 

C.  60.  V.  'A,  XM,  H.  omittit  (Johannc)  Aii<rlico.  Jam  \'o.  ex 
Wadding  supplcvit  Johanne  (1*.  .544,  ii.  l.'JJ)j. — 1.3,  Cum  Bo. 
ex  K.  et  Gl:  conducerent,  pro  B.,  Vo.,  et  An:  conduceret. 

C.  61,  P.  55,  1.1.  B:  hahuit:  Cum  Bo.  ex  K.  et  Gl:  hahuerant; — 1.3, 
B.  et  K:  f Herat;  Cum  Bo.  ex  Q\:  juerant. — Bo.  puto  ex  B: 
Allexander;  cum  Bo.  ex  K.  et  Gl.  addo:  {de  Ales). 

C.  6'-2,  P.  -'to,  1.1'2,  Vo:  suo  convenienter  j)r(){)osito;  An:  suo  con- 
venientes  projjosito  destinavit. 

C.  63,  P.  56,  1.4,  K:exacti  sunt;  Ko:  conati  sunt;  secutus  sum  Bo:  co- 
acfi  sunt. — 1.5,  B:  videretur;  jam  Vo.  conjecit:  juberetur, 
quod  cum  Bo.  ex  Gl.  substitui. — 1.1''2,  Cum  Bo.  ex  K.  et  Gl. 
{per  vos)  habundamus;  (Ita  K.) — 1.15,  B:  ex/iylaratus;  K: 
exhUerahis;  An:  ex  hilar  atufi. — 1.16,  B.  et  K:  renissent;  Bo.  ex 
Gl:  renissent. — 1.17,  K:  quot. — 1.25,  Vo:  nee  nianum,  refra- 
gante  Cod.     (An.  P.  19,  n.  2.) — Hie  desinit  Codex  B. 

C.  64,  P.  57,  1.5,  K:  deceptafioneyn,  cum  Bo.  substitui  discepta- 
tionem.  Forsan:  decertaiionem. — 1.6,  K:  decepfate;  cum  Bo. 
ex  Gl.  et  Ko:  disceptate.  Vox  deceptandi  vel  deceptationis 
nullibi,  nee  in  Ducange  inveniri  potest. 

C.  65,  P.  57,  1.18,  Le.  ex  K:  quot  dictum  est;  Ko:  iif  dictum. — P. 
58,  1.1,  cum  Bo.  supplevi  ex  Gl:  (et)  quedam. 

C.  66,  P.  58,  1.6,  Le://-.  Helias. 

C.  68,  P.  58,  1.1,  Le:/r.  Johannes,  et  ita  semper  quando  occurrit 
verbum  ''f rater.'' — P.  59,  1.1,  Bo.  et  Le.  ex  K:  quot. — 1.3,  Bo. 
ex  Gl.  supplet:  (ipse)  institutionem. 

C.  69,  P.  59,  1.8,  K:  bonus  benignus;  Bo.  et  Le.  ex  Gl:  bonis. — 1.9, 
Bo.  ex  Gl.  supplet  exstitit. — 1.11,  Bo:  in  qua  etiam  et  minister 
electus  est.  Ego  ut  Le.— 1.14-17,  Bo.  addit  ex  Gl:  {Temiit 
tamen  tria  capitula  antequam  absolutus  fuit,  videlicet  in  Er- 
fordia,  Hyldenssheim  et  in  Aldenburch  in.  quo  fuit  absolutus). 

C.  70,  P.  60,  1.1,  Bo.  in  apparatu,  a:  Hyamo  in  margine  corr. 
Haymo  K. 

C.  72,  P.  60,  1.13,  K:  bonvs. 

C.  73,  P.  60,  1.19,  K.  et  Le:  Roniam;  Bo:  Romanum. — 1.20,  K: 
tuseuntes. — P.  61,  1.3,  K:  d'oqui  corr:  aliqui. — 1.4,  K.  et  Le: 
obedientes;  Bo:  obedienter  . — 1.4,  K:  mater;  cum  Bo.  ex  Gl. 
substitui:  matri  quod  et  Le. 

C.  75,  P-  61,  1.  10,  K:  Ludonensi;  Gl:  Lugdunensi. — 1.  11,  Bo. 
ex  Gl.  addit  Conradus  {de  Brunswic); — 1.13,  K:  Hallesi. 

C.  76,  P.  62,  1.1,  ante  Lugdunensi  in  K:  de  deletum. — eadem  linea, 
K:  Crenscius. — 1.2,  K:  ipso. — 1.3,  K:  der  Perma. 

C.  78,  P.  62, 1. 10,  Bo.  ex  Gl.  addit  Conradus  (de  Brunswic)  ex  Gl. — 
1.12,  Bo.  ex  Gl.  {quondam)  minister. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

I.  Gexeral  Works. 

Catholic  Encyclopedia.     New  York.     The  Robert  Appleton  Co.      1!)07-1!)1«. 

Dif  ANGE,  Ch.   DiFuESXE.      Glossarium   \<\  Scriptores    Mediae   Kt     Infiniae 
Latinilatis.     Ill  vols. 
Lutetiae  Pari.sioruni,  Typi.s  Gahrielis  Martini.     MU(  LXXVIII. 

Graesf-Benedict.  Orbis  Latinus,  oder  Verzeichiiiss  der  wichtig.sten  latein- 
ischen  Ort.s-  und  Liindenianien.  2.  Aiifl.  Heilin.  Richard  Karl  Schmidt 
u.  Co.      190!). 

Thesaurus  Linguae  Latinae.  Edit  us  Auctoritate  et  Consilio  Acadeniiarum 
(Juiiujue  Germanicarum.  Leipzig,  Tculmer'sche  Verlagsljucldiandhmg. 
1900- U)  1.5. 

Totius  Latinitatis  Lexicon,  Consilio  et  Cura  Jacobi  Facciolati,  0])era  et  Studio 
Aegidii  Forcellini  Seminarii  Patavini  Lucubratum.  Secundum  Editionem 
Tertiam  Cujus  Curam  Gessit  Josephus  Furlanetto.  Editio  In  Germania 
Prima.  Schneebergae.  Sumptibus  et  Typi.s  C.  Schumanni,  et  Lipsiae, 
Sumptibus  Ch.  E.  Kollmanni.     MDCCCXXXI-MDCCCXXXIX. 

NizoLLi,  Marius.  Lexicon  Ciceronianum  Ex  Recensione  Alexandri  Scott i. 
Patavii,  Typis  Seminarii.     MDCCXXXIV. 

SPELMAXxrs,  Hexricus.  Glossarium  Archaiologicum,  Continens  Latino- 
Barbara.  Auctore  Henrico  Spelmanno,  Equite  Anglo-Britanno.  Lon- 
dini,  Apud  Aliciam  Warren.      MDCLXIV. 

Wbtzer  UND  Welte.  Kirchenlexikon.  Freiburg  i.  Br.  Herder'sche  Verlags- 
buchhandlung.      1882-1903. 

II.  History  of  the  Order  and  Works  Relating 
Thereto. 

Acta  Ordinis  Minorum  Yel  Ad  Ordinem  Quoquo  Modo  Pertinentia.     3.5  vols. 

Ad  Claras  Aquas  (Quaracchi)    1882-1917. 
Acta  Sanctorum  (Bollandistae)  Octobris  Tomus  Secundus.     Parisiis  et  Romae. 

Apud  N'ictorem  Palme.      1866. 
Analecta     Bollandiana    T.    XXYIII.     Bruxelles,    Soci6t6    des     Bollandi.stes. 

1909. 
Analecta    Franciscana    Sive    Chronica    Aliaque    Documenta    ad    Historiam 

Fratrum    Minorum    Spectantia.     Edita    a    Patribus    Collegii    .S.    Bona- 

venturae.     5    vols.     Ad   Claras   Aquas,    (Quaracchi)    MDCCCLXXXY- 

MCMXII. 
Annales  Minorum,  Seu  Trium  Ordinum  a  S.  Francisco  Institutorum.     Editio 

Secunda  Locupletior  et  Accuratior.     Opera  P.  Joseph   L'.  Fonseca.      25 

vols.     MD(  CXXXI-MDCCCLXXXYI. 
Annalium   Minorum  Supplementum.     Ab  Adm.     Rev.  P.  Antonio  Melissano 

de  Macro.     Augustae  Taurinorum,  Jacobus  Gringhelli.     MDCCX. 
Archivum  Franciscanum  Historicum.     8  vols.     Ad  Claras  Aquas  (Quaracchi), 

1908-191.5. 

61 


62  Chronica  Fratris  Jordani  A  Giano 

Archiv  fUr  osterreichische   Geschichte.     IltTaiisi^fgehen  von  <ler  Kalsfrlii'lien 

Akadeinie  der  Wissenschaften.     Vol.  XLIX.     Wieii,  Karl  Gerold's  Sohn. 

187^2. 
BoEHMER,    H.     Chronica    Fratris   Jordani.      (In    Colleclion  (I'fitudes   (et  de 

Documents  sur  I'Hi.stoire  Reli<;ieuse  ct  Lilteraire  du  Moyen  Age,  T.  VI)- 

Pari.s,  Libraiiic  Fischbacher.      15)08. 
Box.\VE.VTrR.\E,  DocTOHLs    Ser-VPHIci,  S.R.E.   Cardiiialis    Kpiscopi.     Opera 
'Omnia.      Studio  et  Cura  I'P.  Coll.  S.  Bonav.  Edita.      11  vols.      .\d  Claras 

Aquas  (Quaracchij  MUCCCLXXXII-MCMI. 
C.\KEY,  Lucas,  O.F.M.     Chronica  Anonyma  Fratrum  Minorum  in  (ierinania. 

In  Anal.  Franc,  vol.  I.     Quaracchi,  Coll.  S.  Bonav.      1885. 
C.w.WNA,  P.  NiccoLA,  O.F.M.     LUmhria  France.scana  lUustrata.      Perugia, 

Unione  Tip.  Cooperativa.     MCMX. 
Chronica    XXIV   Generalium.      In    Anal.    Franc.    Vol.    .'5.      (Quaracchi.      1897. 
Chronicon  XIV  vel  XV  Generalium  Ordinis  Minorum  sen  Catalogus  "Goiisal- 

vinu.s."      In  Anal.  Franc.  Vol.  .S,  18!)7.      (.Xlso  in  Holder-Egger's  Chronica 

Salimbene).      Quaracchi,  1897. 
Franzi.skanische  Studien,  Quartal.schrift,  Vols.  1-3,  1914-191G. 
Glassberger,    Fr.    Xk  oi^\us.     Chronica.     (In     .^nal.    Francisc.       Vol.    2.) 

Quaracchi.      1887. 
GoLUBOviCH,  P.  GiROLAMo,  O.F.M.     Biblioleca  Bio-Bibliographica  della  Terra. 

Santa  e  deir  Oriente  Francescano.    Tomo  Primo.     1215-1,300.    Quaracchi, 

Coll.  S.  Eonav.      190G. 
GoxzACA,     Fr.     Fraxcisci's,     O.F.M.     De    Origine     Scraphicae     Religionis 

Franciscanae  Ejusque  Progressibus.'     Romae,  Ex  Typographia  Dominici 

Basae.      MDLXXXVII. 
Greidereh,  p.  F.  Vigilius.     Ord.   Min.   Ref.  Prov.  Tyrolensis.     Germania 

Pranciscana,  scu  Chronicon  Geographico-Historicum  Ordinis  S.  Francisci 

in    Germania.     Tomus    Primus.     Oeniponte.     Typis    Joannis    Thomae 

Nobilis  de  Trattnern.     MDCCLXXVII. 
Holzapfel,    p.    Dr.    Heribert,    O.F.M.     Handbuch    der    Geschichte    des 

Franziskanerordens.     Freiburg  i.  Br.,  Herder'sche  Verlagsbuchhandlung. 

1909. 
HuEBER,    P.    FoRTUXATL'S,    O.F.M.      Menologium    irh    Initio    Minoritici    In- 

stituti   usque  ad    Moderna   Tenijiora.      Monachii,   Typis    Joannis    Lucae 

Straubii.     MDCLXXXXVIII. 
Kreslixger,    Fr.    Massaeus,   O.F.M.     Ortus   et   Progressus   Sacri   Ordinis 

Fratrum  Minorum  S.  P.  X'.  Francisci.     Claudiopoli,  Typis  Acad.  S.  J., 

per  Michaelem  Becskerek.      1731. 
Lemmexs,    Ff.    Leox.\rdus,    O.F.M.      Fragmenta     Minora.      Roniae,    Typis 

Sallustianis.     1903. 
Lemmexs,    Fr.    Leonardts,    O.F.M.     Scripta    Fratris    Leonis,    Socii    Sancti 

Francisci.     Quaracchi,  Coll.  S.  Bonav.,  1901. 
Lemmexs,   Fr.  Leoxardus,  O.F.M.     Dialogus  de   Vitis  Fratrum   Minorum, 

Scriptus    Circa    1245.     Nunc    Primum    Edidit.     Romae,    T\'pis    Sallus- 

tiansis.      1902. 
Mattaeus    Parisiensis.     Cronica    Majora.     In    Monumenta    Germaniae    His- 

torica,  T.  XXVIII. 


Chronica  l^rafrts  Jordani  A  Giano  6.') 

Mazzaha,    Fr.    Benedetto,    O.F.M.     Leggendario    Francescano.      \i    vols. 

In  Vt-nctia,  Per  Dominico  Lovisa.     MDCCXXI-MDCCXXII.     . 
Monumenta  Germaniae  Historica,  T.  Scriptorum  XVII,  XXVIII,   XXXII. 

Ilaimovcrat'.      InipcMi.sis      Bihliopolii     Hahiiiani.     MI)('( '(  LXXXN  II I- 

MDCCCXllI. 
Moiiunienla  Poloiiiac   Ili.storica,  (Pomniki  Dzii'jowe   Polskij   Tom.  \.  L\v6\v, 

w  Komisie  K.sifgarni  (iubroyiiowkza  i  Schinidta.      1888. 
O'Shea,  Rev.  Joseph  A.,  O.S.F.    The  Life  of  Father   Luke  Wadding,  Founder 

of  St.  Isidore's  College  in  Runu'.     Dublin,   M.  H.  Gill  and  Son.      1885. 
Pisa,    Fr.    Babtholomaeus    de,    O.F.M.     De    Conformitate    Vitae    Beati 

Francisci    Ad    Vitam    Domini   Jesu.     (In    Anal.    Frane.    Vol.    1   and   .5.) 

Quaracchi,  Coll.  S.  Bonav.      MCMVI. 
Sabatieu,    Paul.     Vie    de    S.  Fraa^ois  d'As.'-i.se.     (I)ix-Huitienu>     Edition). 

Paris,  Librairie  Fischbacher.      189(i. 
Sab.\tier,    P.\ul.     Life    of     St.    Francis    of    AssLsi.     Translated    by    Louise 

Seymour  Houghton.     New  York,  Charles  Scribner's  Sons.      1899. 
Sabatier,  Paul.     Speculum  Perfectionis  seu  S.  Francisci  A.ssisiensis   Legenda 

Antiquissima.     Auctore    Fratre    Leone.     Paris,    Librairie    Fischbacher. 

1898.   • 
Sab.\tier,    Paul,    and    others.     Franciscan    Essays.     Aberdeen,    University 

Press.      1912. 
Schlager,    Patrith  s,    O.F.M.     Beitrage    zur    Geschichte    der    Kolnischen 

JVanziskanerprovinz  im  Mittelalter.     Koln,  J.  P.  Bachem.      1901. 
Salimbexe  de  Adam,  O.F.M.     Chronica,  Edidit  Holder-Egger  in  Monumenta 

Germaniae    Historica.     Hannoverae    et     Lipsiae,     Impensis     Bibliopolii 

Hahniani.      1905-1913. 
Sbaralea,  Fr.  Jo.  Hyacixthus.     Supplementum  et  Castigatio  ad  Scriptores 

Trium  Ordinum  S.  Francisci.     Romae,  Editore  Xardeschi.     MCMVIII. 
Tamassia,  Nino.     St.  Francis  of  .\ssisi  and  His  Legend.     Translated  from 

the  Italian  by  Lonsdale  Ragg.     London,  T.  Fisher  I'nwin.     MCMX. 
VoiGT,  Georg.     Die  DenkwUrdigkeiten  der  Minoriten  Jordanus  von  Giano. 

In:   Abhandlungen  der   Koniglich  Sachsischen  Gesellschaft  der   Wissen- 

schaften.     Zwolfter  Band.     Leipzig,  S.  Hirzel.      1870. 
Wadding,   Fr.   Lucas,   O.F.M.     Annales    Minorum,   .seu   Trium   Ordinum  a 

Sancto    Francisco    Institutorum.     Editio    Secunda    Locupletior    et    Ac- 

curatior.     Opera   et    Studio   P.   Josephi.     25    vols.     At    Various    Places. 

MDCCXXXI-MDCCCLXXXVI. 
Wadding,  Fr.  Lucas,  O.F.M.     Scriptores  Ordinis  Minorum  Quibus  Accessit 

Syllabus  Illorum  Qui  e.x  Eodem  Ordine  Pro  Fide  Christi  Fortiter  Occu- 

buerunt.     Editio    N^ovissima.     Romae,    Editore    Doctore    Attilio    Nar- 

decchia.     MCMVI. 
Wadding,   Fr.  Lucas,  O.F'.M.     Supplementum  et    Castigatio  ad    Scriptores 

Trium    Ordinum    S.    Francisci.     Opus    Posthumum    Fr.  Jo.  Ilyacinthi 

Sbaralea,     O.M.Conv.        Romae,    Editore      Doct.     .\ttilio     X'ardecchia. 

mcmvii. 

Zeisberg,     Heinrkh.     Johannes     de     Komerowo.     Tractatus     Chronicae. 
Wien,  Karl  Ceroids  Sohn.      1872. 


VITA. 

The  writer  of  this  dissertation  was  Ijorii  in  Bonn, 
Rhine-Prussia,  July  16,  1881.  He  received  his  primary 
education  at  the  public  schools  of  his  native  city  and 
subseciuently  took  a  course  of  studies  at  the  commercial 
sf'hool  conducted  under  the  ausi)ices  of  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce  of  the  same  city  (1895-1898).  In  1899  he  be- 
gan his  classical  studies  under  i)rivate  instructors  and 
completed  these  studies  at  St.  Francis  Seraphicus  Col- 
lege, Cincinnati,  Ohio,  in  1901.  In  the  same  year  he  en- 
tered the  Order  of  Friars  Minor  and  followed  the  courses 
in  Philosoi)liy  and  Theology  in  tlie  liouses  of  study  of 
his  Order  from  1901-1909.  From  1909-1912  he  taught  the 
Classics  at  St.  Francis  College  in  Cincinnati  and  from 
1914-1917  at  the  College  of  the  Holy  Land  in  Washington, 
D.  C.  He  has  been  a  graduate  student  at  tlie  Catliolic 
University  of  America  since  1914  under  Dr.  Maguire, 
Dr.  Gleis  and  Dr.  O'Connor. 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY 

I  II|I|{I|1N||II  Ijll 


0035518529 

iff 


la 


BRITTLE  DO  NOT 

PHOTOCOPY 


